Two Nations, Two Debut Rockets: China’s Long March 10B and India’s Vikram-I Set for Historic Launches
Featured image: [Renderings of the Long March 10B (left) and Skyroot Aerospace’s Vikram-I (right); credit: CASC/Chinarocket (left), Skyroot Aerospace (right)]
A rare double debut in orbital spaceflight is unfolding this week. China’s partially reusable Long March 10B and India’s first fully private orbital launch vehicle, the Vikram-I from Skyroot Aerospace, are both preparing maiden flights within days of each other, each representing a milestone in its nation’s space ambitions.
Long March 10B: China’s commercial reusable rocket
The Long March 10B, a two-stage medium-lift rocket developed by CASC’s commercial arm Chinarocket, is set to launch from Wenchang Commercial Launch Complex-2 on Hainan Island. Standing 70 meters tall with a 5-meter diameter, it can deliver 16 metric tons to low Earth orbit in reusable configuration.
The rocket is powered by seven YF-100K kerosene-fueled engines on the first stage, generating 8,750 kilonewtons of sea-level thrust. In a novel recovery approach, the first stage will aim for a net-capture at sea on a marine platform rather than a propulsive landing on a droneship. The second stage introduces a YF-219 methane-fueled engine, the first Chinese orbital stage to use methalox propellant.
The Long March 10B is optimized for China’s Guowang megaconstellation, with its 11 metric ton capacity to a 900-kilometer orbit tailored for batch-launching internet satellites. It is the commercial variant of the Long March 10 family, which also includes a crew-rated super-heavy version for China’s lunar landing by 2030 and a medium reusable variant for servicing the Tiangong space station.
A recovery test in February 2026 saw a first-stage test article perform a controlled splashdown roughly 200 meters from its recovery platform, a key validation milestone.
Vikram-I: India goes private
India’s Vikram-I, named “Aagaman” (Sanskrit for “Arrival”) and built by Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace, has its launch window opening July 12 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The 26-meter, all-carbon-composite rocket can lift 350 kilograms to a 500-kilometer orbit, targeting the small-satellite market.
The four-stage solid-fueled vehicle uses Kalam-series solid motors, the Kalam-1000, Kalam-250, and Kalam-100, with a fourth stage powered by four 3D-printed Raman-I hypergolic engines. The rocket can be assembled and made launch-ready within 24 to 72 hours at the pad.
Four payloads, a mix of domestic and international customers including one Skyroot satellite, will ride on the maiden flight. Skyroot was founded in 2018 by former ISRO scientists Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka, and has raised roughly $95.5 million to date. Its 20,000-square-meter Infinity Campus in Hyderabad can produce one orbital rocket per month.
The company’s suborbital precursor, Vikram-S, launched in November 2022 as India’s first private rocket to reach space. Skyroot now aims to capture 10 percent of the global small-satellite launch market, estimated at roughly $25 billion by 2033, and scale to monthly launches by 2027.
Complementary trajectories
The two debut rockets serve very different markets despite launching in the same week. The Long March 10B targets medium-lift megaconstellation deployment from China’s state-owned sector, while Vikram-I aims for the small-satellite niche from a private Indian startup. Both are pathfinders: the LM-10B tests reusability for China’s commercial launch fleet, and Vikram-I tests whether India can produce a commercially viable private orbital launch service.
Source: 1ban.news