Source TOI
SRIHARIKOTA — In a historic milestone for India’s commercial space sector, Skyroot Aerospace is set to launch its first orbital-class rocket, Vikram-1. Scheduled for liftoff from the historic first launchpad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, the maiden flight—dubbed Mission Aagaman (“Arrival”)—will carry a deeply symbolic piece of cargo alongside its technical payloads: a handwritten postcard from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The postcard, signed and dated by the Prime Minister, bears the words “Vande Mataram.”
According to Skyroot Aerospace, this special message will travel to space alongside dozens of other handwritten postcards penned by the startup’s engineers, investors, policymakers, and prominent figures in space exploration. Notable contributors include ISRO Chairman S. Somanath, former chairman K. Sivan, and Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla.
“It gives me goosebumps to read the PM’s handwritten postcard,” said Pawan Kumar Chandana, co-founder and CEO of Skyroot Aerospace. The company described the collective keepsakes as a tribute to the community that has built and backed India’s rapidly ascending private space ecosystem.
More Than a Message: A Flight of Innovations
Standing nearly seven stories tall, Vikram-1 is an all-carbon-composite rocket, making it five times lighter than traditional steel builds and highly efficient. While Skyroot made history in November 2022 with its suborbital Vikram-S flight, Mission Aagaman represents a massive technological leap: attempting to reach a 450-kilometer Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and proving the rocket can precisely deploy satellites.
Beyond the historic postcards, the rocket is packed with a diverse manifest of technology demonstrations and unique art pieces:
Satellites and Robotics: Commercial payloads include Grahaa Space’s SOLARAS S3 satellite, Skyroot’s own SCOPE satellite, and an in-orbit demonstration from Germany’s DCUBED. It will also carry Embrace, an innovative in-orbit robotic arm designed by Cosmoserve Space to eventually capture space debris.
Cosmic Art: A lab-grown “Diamond Lotus” artwork titled Cosmic Bloom, developed by Bengaluru-based Cosmos Diamonds.
Gold Micro-Art: A miniature 18-karat gold rocket sculpted by artist Ajay Kumar Mattewada, holding micro-sculptures of Indian scientific legends Sir C.V. Raman, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, and Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam—each smaller than a single grain of rice.
Backed by major global institutional investors like Singapore’s GIC, Temasek, and Google-backer Sherpalo Ventures, Skyroot has grown into India’s first spacetech unicorn with a $1.1 billion valuation.
If successful, the launch will establish a vital alternative for small-satellite operators worldwide seeking customized, on-demand access to orbit, firmly planting India’s private sector on the global space map.
