India’s private rocket maker Skyroot Aerospace announced on 14th October that it has successfully completed the full stage level test of the Orbital Adjustment Module of its Vikram-1 rocket.
“Our Orbital Adjustment Module just completed its full stage-level test. Meeting flight conditions through more than 1,000 thruster pulses—one Raman-2 engine, four Raman Mini thrusters, eight cold gas thrusters, all firing in perfect harmony,” Skyroot Aerospace said.
“The Orbital Adjustment Module gives the final precise kick velocity (delta-v) to the satellite to put them in right orbit. It also adjusts different satellites to different orbits by restarting multiple times,” Pawan Kumar Chandana, Co-Founder & CEO told Orbital Today.
In August 2025, Skyroot Aerospace carried out the first static test of the KALAM 1200 Motor- the first stage of Vikram-1 rocket. The test was carried out at Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Satish Dhawan Space Centre located at India’s rocket port town Sriharikota.
“This is a major milestone in the configuration and realization of the systems for Vikram – 1 Launch Vehicle. The motor is a 11 m long, 1.7 m dia monolithic composite motor with a Propellant Mass of 30t,” ISRO had then said.
Based on the design inputs, this longest monolithic motor is prepared at the Solid Propellant Plant, Sriharikota. Similarly, the ISRO team has provided the design for the Test Stand, which is used for the static test of the motor.
Skyroot Aerospace will be orbiting multiple cube satellites belonging foreign and Indian owners.
“While the exact month for the launch of Vikram-1 is yet to be confirmed, we are in the advanced stages of flight qualification tests of various systems and subsystems,” Chandana had then said.
Queried about the payloads – Indian and foreign- Chandana had said: “We have few payloads flying on our first launch details of which we will be releasing closer to the launch date.”
Around 15 minutes after the lift off from the Srihairkota rocket port owned by ISRO the cubesats will be ejected using an ultra-low shock pneumatic separation system.
The company had earlier planned to have its first orbital launch sometime during the middle of 2025. As of now the date is yet to be confirmed.
In 2022, Skyroot Aerospace carried out successfully the flight test of its rocket Vikram-S in a sub-orbital mission from the Sriharikota rocket port.
The rocket reached a peak altitude of 89.5 km.It was also the first test flight of a rocket belonging to a private company from Indian soil.
Pawan Kumar Chandana
