Mumbai, Nov. 28 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday unveiled space startup Skyroot Aerospace's first orbital rocket and inaugurated the company's new facility in Hyderabad at an event during which he also praised Generation Z professionals for driving India's private space revolution. Modi unveiled the Vikram-I and opened Skyroot's 200,000-square-foot Infinity Campus via videoconference, saying the private sector is making great strides in India's space ecosystem. "Skyroot's Infinity Campus reflects India's new thinking, innovation and, most importantly, youth power," Modi said. "In the future, India will emerge as a leader in the global satellite launch ecosystem." The PM said the space sector has become crucial for communication, agriculture, marine monitoring, urban planning, weather prediction and national security. He credited his government's reforms with attracting young entrepreneurs to the sector, noting that more than 300 space startups now operate in India. Modi said he has met regularly with space startups over the past five to six years, finding small teams with limited resources but soaring ambitions. "It's this spirit that has given birth to the private space revolution in India," he said. "Today, these Gen-Z engineers, Gen-Z designers, Gen-Z coders, and Gen-Z scientists are creating new technologies. Be it propulsion systems, composite materials, rocket stages, or satellite platforms, India's youth is working in areas that were unimaginable even a few years ago. India's private space talent is making its mark globally." Modi also highlighted that the global space economy is poised to grow exponentially in the future. "Today, the global demand for small satellites is constantly growing. Launch frequencies are also increasing. New companies are beginning to offer satellite services. And space has now established itself as a strategic asset. This presents a huge opportunity for India's youth," he said. Modi also said global companies want to build satellites in India, acquire launch services from India, and seek technology partnerships with India. "Only a few countries in the world have the capability that India has in the space sector. We have expert engineers, a high-quality manufacturing ecosystem, world-class launch sites, and a mindset that encourages innovation. India's space capability is both cost-effective and reliable," he said. "This is why the world has high expectations from India." Former Indian Space Research Organisation rocket scientist Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka, a flight computer engineer at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, founded Skyroot Aerospace in 2018. Four years later, Skyroot launched Vikram S, India's first privately built suborbital rocket, on 18 November 2022, from Sriharikota. The company plans to launch the seven-storey Vikram-I rocket in January with assistance from ISRO and IN-SPACe. "You both believed in yourselves and did not shy away from taking risks," Modi told the founders. The Infinity Campus expands Skyroot's Max-Q headquarters, India's first private rocket design and development facility. Chandana, co-founder and chief operating officer, said Vikram-I is India's first private commercial rocket fully designed and built domestically. The rocket is engineered to deploy multiple satellites into Earth's orbit. Its booster stage, Kalam-1200, is India's largest privately developed rocket stage, Chandana said. The launch will place India among the top three nations to put a private satellite into orbit, he added....