NEW DELHI: “When I took the bold step of privatising the space sector, I was discouraged not to go ahead, I was told it could not be done, asked how it would be done and whether it would be the right decision, but I kept going forward. Today, with the successful launch of (first private orbital rocket) Vikram-1, you all have proved me right. Your success gave me strength that my decision was right. It also shows that govt has to have complete faith in India’s youth and give them work. It also gives me immense pride that all the team members of Skyroot Aerospace have the average age group of 20-25,” PM Narendra Modi told Skyroot Aerospace CEO and founder Pawan Kumar Chandana and co-founder Naga Bharath Daka at Sriharikota over phone from Delhi after the maiden liftoff on Saturday.“This is Mission Aagaman (Arrival). It has to keep going forward. Now, you have to scale new heights and meet new targets on time,” the PM told Chandana over phone in front of 1,000 employees of Skyroot at Sriharikota and invited them to his Delhi office.PM Modi called it a “defining moment in India’s space journey” as India has become the third country in the world—after the US and China—with indigenous private orbital launch capability. “The growing participation of our private sector is opening new frontiers and accelerating innovation. This achievement will encourage countless youngsters to dream bigger and innovate fearlessly,” he said on X.Chandana, on behalf of his team, thanked the govt and Isro for “hand-holding, guidance and giving clearances for launch with zero waiting period”. He also told the PM that this rocket“ is 100% designed in India, built by a 100% Indian team”. The CEO of Skyroot, India’s first spacetech unicorn, also told Modi, “Sir, your handwritten card with ‘Vande Mataram’ written on it has reached space. Vande Mataram is in orbit.” A day before the launch, Chandana revealed that besides six payloads to be launched at the 450km low earth orbit, Vikram-1 would also carry a special message for the universe from PM Modi alongside “handwritten messages from our team, investors, policymakers, and well-wishers across the globe”. Explaining why he wrote only those two words in the card, the PM said the world is celebrating 150 years of Vande Mataram and that the national song inspired many to live and die for the country.Space minister Jitendra Singh, who witnessed the launch at Sriharikota virtually, said, “Had PM Narendra Modi not taken the bold decision to open India’s space sector to private enterprise, the country would not have witnessed this historic achievement.”Congratulating the team, Isro chairman V Narayanan said, “This is a proud day, not just for Skyroot but for the whole country. Only a handful of nations can reach space on their own, and today a private Indian company joined that exclusive club. What lifted off today is the culmination of years of work, a team of over a thousand people, and efforts of close to four hundred suppliers with it. You have given us an India moment.”Space regulator IN-SPACe chairman Pawan Goenka said, “What the world witnessed today is the result of years of work by our team, our partners and suppliers across the country. It proves that India has the talent, the technology and the industrial strength to build launch vehicles that meet the world’s standards and to serve the world from here.”
