Hyderabad: India’s first privately built orbital rocket is one step closer to its historic mission as Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy brandished Skyroot Aerospace’s Vikram-1 flight hardware to Sriharikota as the company hopes to launch the rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in June this year.Terming this a proud moment for Telangana and an important milestone in the state’s ambition to become a global leader in aerospace, the CM noted that Vikram-1 has been entirely designed and developed in Hyderabad, indicating the state’s growing importance in the Indian aerospace and space technology ecosystem.“Skyroot developed India’s first privately built orbital rocket to launch satellites into space. The company launched its first rocket (sub-orbital) in 2022, reaching the orbital launch stage in such a short time is a remarkable achievement. ” said Revanth Reddy while interacting with the company’s leadership and engineering team.Telangana Industries and Information Technology Minister D Sridhar Babu and other senior officials were also present at the unveiling ceremony.
Telangana has ranked first in India in the aerospace sector, the CM said, noting that global giants like Boeing, Airbus and Safran have operations in the state. He added that the government has set a long-term goal to make Telangana a global aerospace hub by 2047 and the aerospace industry has been identified as one of the key growth engines for the state.He also linked the rise of the aerospace industry to the state’s export performance. Citing central government data, he said Telangana has recorded the highest growth in exports of engineering products among Indian states, with a growth of 117.9 per cent between 2023-24 and 2024-25.He said aircraft parts and defense equipment were among the largest contributors to the growth, reflecting the rapid expansion of the state’s advanced manufacturing capabilities. Ravensh Reddy said the government is strongly committed to building a skilled workforce to support future growth in aerospace and other high-tech sectors.He outlined the ongoing efforts of Young India Skilled Universities, Advanced Technology Centers and Polytechnics and said India plans to bring ATCs and polytechnics under the ambit of Skilled Universities.According to him, the move is aimed at creating a unified, industry-driven curriculum and ensuring that training is aligned with changing industry needs. He said the government’s focus was not only on student training but also on improving the quality of teachers.“Our focus is to provide the best training to the trainers of these institutions. Tata Technologies is providing training to the trainers of ATCs across the state,” he said.Skyroot Aerospace CEO and co-founder Pawan Kumar Chandana said the flag-raising ceremony will arrive in Sriharikota next week, where they will start assembling the rocket and hope to launch it in June this year.Chandana said Skyroot is in discussions with IN-SPACE (India’s National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe)) and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to get the launch window for the rocket.“We will announce the launch window soon,” he said, adding that after the first test launch of Vikram-1 in the next few months, the company will conduct more test launches.“By next year, our goal is to reach the capability of producing one rocket per month, and maybe sometime next year we will be able to reach the full payload capacity of 300 kilograms per rocket,” he said, noting that the first few test launches will carry only partial payloads.He termed this a proud moment not just for India but for the world as very few companies in the world have the capabilities and technology to build rockets. “