Mumbai, July 18 -- India became the third country in the world with private orbital launch capability after Vikram-1 rocket successfully undertook its maiden flight from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on Saturday, paving the way for commercial space flights from Indian soil.

At 12.10pm, the indigenously developed launch vehicle by Skyroot Aerospace injected four technology demonstration payloads on at an altitude of 450km at a 60-degree orbital inclination in the earth's lower orbit (LEO).

"We have created a global milestone from India," said co-founder and CEO Pawan Chandana who founded the Hyderabad-based firm with Bharath Dhaka, both alumni of the Indian Institutes of Technology and former ISRO scientists turned entrep...