en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Singapore High Commission in India expressed support for Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-1 mission, stating that the launch marks progress in space cooperation between Singapore and India. The High Commission noted on social media that Skyroot Aerospace, backed by the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) and Temasek, is about to undertake India's first private orbital launch mission.

The Vikram-1 rocket, built by Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace, features a lightweight carbon composite structure, three solid-fuel stages, and a liquid orbital adjustment module. The rocket is 24 meters long and is designed to deploy payloads weighing up to 350 kilograms into a low Earth orbit at an altitude of 450 kilometers and an inclination of 60 degrees.

The mission, designated "Mission Aagaman," is scheduled for its maiden test flight on July 18 at 11:30 a.m. from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. This marks the first time an Indian private company will use its own launch vehicle to send satellites into orbit, independent of the government's launch vehicle program. The payload for this launch includes a lab-grown diamond called "Diamond Lotus," developed by Bangalore-based Cosmos Diamonds.

Rajesh Jyoti, Technical Director of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), stated that the mission reflects the rapid growth of India's private space sector following the 2020 space sector reforms. He noted that after the government's space reforms in 2020, IN-SPACe was established in 2022, and the number of Indian space startups has grown from an initial five or six to over 400. Jyoti pointed out that the success of Vikram-1 could significantly enhance India's commercial launch capabilities, as only a few countries globally possess such small satellite launch vehicles. A successful mission would drive the development of the small satellite launch vehicle market.

Naga Bharath Daka, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Skyroot Aerospace, said that since the company's founding eight years ago, its goal has been to provide affordable and reliable launch services to global satellite operators.