Named Kalam-1200, the rocket stage is the largest monolithic solid rocket motor developed in the country’s space sector.
The country’s first privately developed orbital launch vehicle, Vikram-1, breached a crucial milestone as Skyroot Aerospace successfully static test-fired the rocket’s Stage-1 carbon composite solid fuel booster stage at the advanced test complex at Satish Dhawan Space Centre-SHAR, Sriharikota.
The launch vehicle will provide on-demand and customised launches for global small satellite operators, both in India and globally.
The static test, conducted at the spaceport under the aegis of ISRO, validated the performance of the 30-tonne booster stage of Skyroot’s orbital launch vehicle, Vikram-1, which is slated for its maiden flight later this year.
The rocket stage was fired for around 110 seconds and generated the desired thrust within the estimated lower and upper bounds throughout its burn time.
Named Kalam-1200, the rocket stage is the largest monolithic solid rocket motor developed in the country’s space sector. At 11 meters long, it can generate nearly 1200 kN of peak vacuum thrust — nearly 10 times as much as that of an engine on a Boeing 737 Max.
The casting of Kalam-1200, a complex process of pouring and shaping the bespoke solid fuel propellant inside the carbon composite casing, was accomplished by ISRO’s SDSC-SHAR at Sriharikota.
Friday’s static test validated the ballistic performance, burn rate, and thermal protection system of the motor, as well as other parameters, including the composite flex nozzle system, Naga Bharath Daka, Co-founder and COO, Skyroot Aerospace, said.
The flex nozzle system is a steering mechanism for the rocket, controlled by Vikram-1’s Mission Computer, the onboard command and control computer that runs the algorithm guiding the rocket autonomously from the launchpad to orbit.
“Witnessing Kalam-1200 roar to life at the test stand was an exhilarating yet humbling experience. It is the culmination of years of hard engineering by the young team at Skyroot,” Pawan Kumar Chandana, Co-founder and CEO, Skyroot Aerospace, said.
Published on August 8, 2025
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