Arya Das 🇮🇳

Aerospace Engineer. Interested in space, robotics, history, and indology.

[InfraStory @marinebharat]

Last 3 days in Bharat 🇮🇳

1️⃣ World’s strongest and longest Hydrogen Train launched

2️⃣ Skyroot successfully launches Vikram 1 rocket in maiden attempt

3️⃣ Largest ever Nuclear Energy tender floated - EPC Construction of 4 x 700 MW Mahi Banswara Nuclear Power Project

[Caleb @caleb_friesen]

When I first came to India, the space industry was closed to private players.

The most well-known "startup" at that time was TeamIndus. Skyroot didn't exist.

A year later, in 2018, Skyroot was founded. Private companies in India couldn't launch rockets yet, but Pawan and Bharath forged ahead regardless, optimistic that liberalisation would happen someday.

Then, in 2020, it did. Indian companies were finally free to compete with American, Russian, European, and Chinese startups. They could build their own launch vehicles. And satellites. At an undisclosed location in the United States, Elon swallowed hard.

I was publishing videos about Indian companies on YouTube at this point. I remember thinking, "Making content about these spacetech developments is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Now, ~6 years later, Skyroot has gifted India with the biggest white pill of all time. While the world watched, a team of ~1,000+ Indian optimists (with an average age of 28) flawlessly executed an orbital rocket launch.

No private space company IN THE WORLD has ever done this on their first try. As I write this, I have goosebumps. I feel incredibly privileged to have been able to witness this firsthand. I also feel inspired by the resilience, ingenuity, and wherewithal of the entire Skyroot team.

The next chapter of India's space journey has officially begun.

[Ravi Sharma @ravishar313]

How can you not be optimistic?

How can you not wake up every day and not be motivated when men and women out there are making miracles possible .

These things used to happen in US, now they happen here. The motivation is right in your backyard.

How can you be a blackpiller when the future is in your hands?

[Viraj Raundal @virajraundal8]

The Indian civilisation is meant to be a space-faring civilisation. God doesn't award you a location so perfect for it only for you to launch twice a year. You are supposed to take off twice a day and honour the god's wish.

[Gareeb Scientist @gareebscientist]

Todays Skyroot launch proves that no dream is too big or ridiculous, remember skyoot not only had to engineer the whole rocket but also move the gorment machinery and babus, bring whole new rules regulations in place

You can achieve what you want, it will be tough, but possible

[ISRO @isro]

Congratulations to the entire Skyroot Aerospace Team on the successful launch of Vikram-1 (Mission Aagaman) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
The mission marks a significant milestone for India’s private space sector and reflects the growing capability of the country’s space ecosystem.
Congratulations to IN-SPACe and ISRO teams, who enabled and facilitated the launch and ground testing operations along with technical consultancy and 24x7 safety surveillance.
This achievement is also a testament to the Space Sector Reforms envisioned by our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji.

#Vikram1
#IndiawithVikram1
#SkyrootAerospace
#OpeningSpaceForAll

[Pubity @pubity]

India becomes only the third country in the world to achieve a private orbital launch capability after Vikram-1 Test Flight-1 reached the orbit successfully after completing its final burn and injecting payloads into 450km orbit

[Skyroot Aerospace @SkyrootA]

Hello space, we have arrived! Vikram-1's Test Flight-1 has completed it's mission.

The first ever Indian private sector launch has been successfully completed.

#Vikram1 #MissionAagaman #OpeningSpaceForAll

[Narendra Modi @narendramodi]

Spoke to the team of Skyroot Aerospace and congratulated them on the successful launch of Vikram-1.

This is a defining moment in India’s space journey. 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.

@SkyrootA

[Skyroot Aerospace @SkyrootA]

ORBIT ACHIEVED. 🚀

Vikram-1 Test Flight-1 has reached orbit. India's first privately developed orbital rocket has completed its final burn and injected its payloads into a ~450 km orbit, making India the third country in the world with private orbital launch capability.

History is made. 🇮🇳

#Vikram1 #JourneyToOrbit #SkyrootAerospace

[Skyroot Aerospace @SkyrootA]

Thank you, Hon. Prime Minister Modiji! 🙏🇮🇳

This historic milestone has been made possible by your vision for India’s space sector and the transformative reforms that opened new frontiers for private space innovation in the country.

Grateful for your leadership and encouragement as we take this historic step. 🚀

[Narendra Modi @narendramodi]

A historic new frontier for India’s space journey!

At 11:30 AM today, Skyroot Aerospace will undertake the maiden orbital launch of Vikram-1, India’s first privately developed launch vehicle.

This four-stage rocket is designed to provide rapid and on-demand launch services. This mission highlights the talent, determination and entrepreneurial spirit of our youth. It also shows how our space-sector reforms are unlocking new opportunities for innovation and enterprise.

My best wishes to the entire Skyroot Aerospace team for a successful launch. May Vikram-1 soar high, create history and inspire a generation of innovators.

I urge all Indians, especially my young friends, to follow this historic mission and join in wishing Team Skyroot success using #IndiaWithVikram1.

@SkyrootA

[Skyroot Aerospace @SkyrootA]

Signed by the people who built it. 🚀

Every signature on Vikram-1 belongs to an engineer, technician, or teammate who helped make this mission possible.

Now, they’re all headed to space aboard Mission Aagaman.

#Vikram1 #MissionAagaman

[THE SKIN DOCTOR @theskindoctor13]

The CJI made a "cockroach" remark for some reason, which was seen as mocking the youth who criticize the judiciary and the system.

Organic outrage followed. Abhijit Dipke, a social media handler of a political party thought smartly and created a satirical Instagram account called the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). It was meant purely as satire. Since the cockroach comment was trending in the news, people followed the CJP account on a whim.

Seeing its potential, the political party Dipke was associated with jumped it and took over the initiative. They hired media agencies and influencers to promote the account further by generating hype, curiosity and making it the "in thing." Consequently, more people followed, triggering a bandwagon effect. Soon, the follower count reached crores.

Then, the political think tank behind CJP concluded that they had enough support. They reasoned that if even 1% of their 2.5 crore followers turned up for a physical protest, they could topple the govt, or bring a huge shock at least. A massive buildup was engineered for Dipke’s homecoming to India, mimicking the historical hype of Gandhi’s return from South Africa.

They anticipated such a massive crowd that they expected Dipke to be welcomed by crores of people at the airport. Instead, nobody showed up. Nobody turned up at the protest site either. It was a massive disappointment for a party with 2.5 crore urban followers to be incapable of finding even 50 organic protestors.

To compensate, they brought in the same old compulsive protestors to fill the site, leftist student unions, LGBT groups, farmer leaders, and aadarsh musalmaan groups, but the movement failed to kick off.

Next, they found Sonam Wangchuk, a man with a relatively clean past, apparently no political inclinations, and a public image popularized by a movie (which wasn't actually based on his life, but worked anyway). They convinced him to go on a hunger strike.

The party behind the movement waited 15 to 17 days for Wangchuk to lose weight, ensuring he looked frail, weak, and barely surviving. Once he reached that state, they launched a massive Instagram and Facebook campaign to emotionally manipulate and guilt the masses into supporting the movement through him. To a certain extent, they have been successful.

I don't know if Sonam is aware of it or not, but knowingly or unknowingly, he has become the face of a manufacturd movement.

P.S. Dharmendra Pradhan should have been sacked. I have said this multiple times too. Why? Simply because he is incompetent, not because someone is sitting on a hunger strike demanding it. Wangchuk might be a sincere guy, but the people pulling the strings behind this movement are not. And trust me, if something happens to Wangchuk, these people will be the happiest because it gives them a tragedy they can capitalize on to reignite a dying movement.

[Pawan @PawanKChandana]

24 hours to lift-off. 🚀

Eight years ago, @SkyrootA started with just two people with an idea.

There was no policy framework for private spaceflight in India, no real funding ecosystem for space startups, and we were taking on one of the world’s hardest engineering challenges. The odds of success seemed incredibly small.

Today, India’s first privately developed orbital rocket stands on the launch pad, ready for lift-off.

This moment belongs to every member of our team, our investors, the Government of India,@PMOIndia, @isro, @INSPACeIND, our partners, suppliers, customers, and everyone who believed in us long before this day.

We have done everything we possibly could.

Now we let physics do its job.

Whatever tomorrow brings, every second of flight will teach us something invaluable. Reaching the launch pad and attempting an orbital launch is a landmark milestone for India—and an achievement only a handful of companies worldwide have reached. Every milestone we cross will advance not just Skyroot or India’s space journey, but the global commercial space ecosystem.

Tomorrow, we take the next step. 🇮🇳🚀

[Skyroot Aerospace @SkyrootA]

Cleared for launch. ✍️🚀

In a historic first, Skyroot has received launch authorisation from @INSPACeIND for Vikram-1, Test Flight-1, Mission Aagaman. India’s first private orbital launch.

Grateful to IN-SPACe for enabling this landmark milestone for India’s space ecosystem. 🇮🇳

#Vikram1 #MissionAagaman #SkyrootAerospace #OpeningSpaceForAll

[Skyroot Aerospace @SkyrootA]

It’s official. 🚀
July 18. 11:30 AM IST.
Vikram-1. Test Flight-1. Mission Aagaman.

India’s first private orbital launch from the historic First Launch Pad at SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota.

The countdown begins. 🇮🇳

#Vikram1 #MissionAagaman #SkyrootAerospace #OpeningSpaceForAll

[Caleb @caleb_friesen]

VImag Labs blew my mind.

They've built what they call a Virtual Magnet Synchronous Motor (VMSM).

Traditional permanent magnet motors rely on rare earth magnets inside the rotor. These magnets are imported and expensive.

Instead of using permanent magnets, VImag's rotor contains windings that are electronically excited and precisely controlled through software. As current is induced and managed in the rotor, it behaves like a "virtual magnet" allowing the rotating magnetic field from the stator to drive the motor just like a conventional permanent magnet synchronous motor.

This means that the motor delivers the benefits of a permanent magnet design without actually needing rare earth magnets.

Their current prototype is rated for 6 kW continuous power, with a peak output of 10 kW and 48 to 58 Nm of torque. The initial target market is EVs (everything from two wheelers, three wheelers, buses, and trucks). They may also use them in compressors and ceiling fans.

The upsides are:

1. Lower cost.
2. Lower weight.
3. Smaller size.
4. Ability to control magnetic field.
5. Improved efficiency over PMSM.
6. Indigenous manufacturing and supply chain resilience.

The company has been working on this tech since 2020.

[SPACE.com @SPACEdotcom]

Backed by a $1.1 billion valuation, Skyroot Aerospace is betting that its Vikram-1 rocket can help transform India's commercial launch industry. And Vikram-1 is set to fly soon. https://t.co/N0Ya27Rexo

[Dr. S. Jaishankar @DrSJaishankar]

India formally launches its campaign for United Nations Security Council 2028-2029.