Grahaa Space Vikram-1 Mission: Grahaa Space has reached a major point in its journey. Grahaa Space successfully deployed its technology demonstration nanosatellite, SOLARAS, aboard Skyroot Aerospace’s Vikram-1 mission from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. Through the SIDDHI mission, the company carried out its first-ever in-orbit test of its satellite technology. Skyroot’s Vikram-1 mission also lifted off today as India’s first privately developed orbital rocket mission, which makes this launch even more special.
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What SOLARAS will Test
SOLARAS was made in India to check if Grahaa Space’s stackable nanosatellite bus works well in space. The mission will test the platform, the communication system, and the hosted payload setup too. In simple words, the company wants to see if its small satellite design can work in real space conditions and support future Earth observation, business, science, and institutional missions. Skyroot says Vikram-1 is made for small satellites and can carry payloads of up to 350 kg to low Earth orbit, which fits the kind of mission Grahaa Space is trying to build.
The mission also carries VISWA-M, an academic research payload made by VIT-AP University in Amaravati. This shows that Grahaa Space’s hosted payload model is not only for its own work. It can also support research and learning projects from colleges and other groups. The company has said it wants to build a future where more space missions can be faster, more flexible, and easier to use for many kinds of users.
What the Company Said Next
Ramesh Kumar V, Co-founder & CEO, Grahaa Space, said “Today is a defining moment for Grahaa Space. Watching SOLARAS successfully reach orbit is the culmination of years of engineering, perseverance and a shared vision of building world-class space technologies in India. This mission validates our indigenous nanosatellite platform and marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the company. We are grateful to Skyroot Aerospace for enabling this landmark mission and to our partners for their trust and collaboration. The success of SOLARAS strengthens our commitment to building scalable satellite platforms that make access to space faster, more affordable and more accessible for governments, enterprises, research institutions and the broader space ecosystem.”
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After deployment, SOLARAS will go through commissioning and in-orbit checks. Grahaa Space will study how the satellite behaves and how well its onboard systems perform. The company says the lessons from this mission will help shape its next missions and support its bigger goal of sending near-real-time geospatial video data for ground use. That also ties into the wider push to grow India’s private space sector with homegrown satellite technology.
