India scripted a new chapter in its space history on Saturday as Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace successfully launched Vikram-1, the country's first private orbital-class rocket. The maiden orbital mission, named "Mission Aagaman", lifted off at 12:05 pm from the First Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, marking a major milestone in the growth of the nation's private space sector.
Standing nearly seven storeys tall, the four-stage launch vehicle carried multiple customer payloads and in-orbit experiments on its maiden orbital mission.
As the nation celebrates this achievement with pride, it also serves as a reminder of how far India's space programme has come. In the early days of the Indian space programme, scientists transported rocket components on bicycles and bullock carts due to limited infrastructure.
From those humble beginnings to launching orbital-class rockets, let's look back at the journey that began on humble wheels.
A Timeline Of The Humble Beginnings
In 1962, the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was established under the patronage of Vikram Sarabhai and physicist Kalpathi Ramakrishna Ramanathan, marking a pivotal moment in India's space exploration journey.
A mere year later, in 1963, India made its debut in space exploration with the launch of its first rocket. This sounding rocket, intended for upper atmospheric studies, was launched by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) from the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) in the fishing village of Kerala's Thumba, now known as the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.
Indian scientists like Abdul Kalam Azad worked hard and transported rocket components to the launch pad using bicycles. On November 21, 1963, these efforts finally paid off when the rocket was successfully launched in the presence of distinguished scientists, including Dr Homi Bhabha.
The second rocket, launched in 1981, was a little bigger and heavier. ISRO scientists transported it in a bullock cart for the lift off. It was India's first indigenous and experimental communication satellite named Ariane Passenger Payload Experiment (APPLE). With a mass of 670 kg, the satellite was launched using Ariane Space's Ariane-1 rocket from Kourou.
The development of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in the 1990s transformed India's launch programme. Although the vehicle faced initial setbacks, it went on to become one of the world's most reliable launch systems, completing more than 50 successful missions.
India's ambitions soon extended beyond Earth orbit. Chandrayaan-1, launched in 2008, marked the country's first mission to the Moon and played a key role in confirming the presence of water molecules on the lunar surface.
In 2013, the Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) made India the first Asian nation to reach Mars orbit and the first country in the world to do so on its maiden attempt.
India's biggest breakthrough came on August 23, 2023, when Chandrayaan-3 became the first spacecraft to achieve a successful soft landing near the Moon's south polar region. The achievement cemented India's position among the world's leading spacefaring nations, with August 23 now observed as National Space Day.
Soon afterwards, ISRO successfully launched Aditya-L1, India's first dedicated solar mission, to study the Sun from the Lagrange Point 1 (L1), further showcasing the country's expanding scientific ambitions.
Now, the successful launch of Vikram-1 represents the next phase of India's space story.
ALSO READ: Skyroot Scripts History As Vikram-1 Reaches Orbit; India Joins Elite Private Space Club
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