Vikram-1: India's first private space rocket by Skyroot to carry diamond flower - BBC News

India's first space-tech unicorn Skyroot Aerospace successfully launched Vikram-1 on Saturday.

Image source, ReutersImage caption, Vikram-1 took off from the Indian Space Research Organisation's launch facility in Sriharikota on Saturday

What if launching a satellite was as easy as calling a cab?

That's the vision behind an Indian private rocket company that achieved its first orbital launch on Saturday.

Skyroot Aerospace, which recently became India's first space tech unicorn after reaching $1.1bn valuation, launched Vikram-1 from the Indian Space Research Organisation's (Isro) launch facility in Sriharikota in southern India.

The seven-storey rocket lifted off at 12:05 India time [06:35 GMT] and travelled 280 miles (450km) to reach the Low Earth Orbit in a 16-minute flight.