Energize your weekend with six hot stories from space, gaming, and tech. India goes private as Vikram-1 reaches orbit, making history. Meanwhile, Sony officially ditches physical game discs, announcing an end to production by 2028. PC gamers are rejoicing with Steam's 95% off Summer Sale, and Nintendo might be brewing a Switch 2 OLED. In space news, SpaceX's Starship was aborted at the last second. Let's dive into the details.
India Enters Elite Private Space Club Saturday morning, July 18, 2026 at 12:05 PM local time, Indian space company Skyroot Aerospace made history. The Vikram-1 rocket launched from the Satish Dhawan Space
Centre in Sriharikota and successfully deployed multiple technology demonstration payloads and postcards (including a message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi) into low Earth orbit. This was India's first
fully private orbital mission. Named after pioneering Indian space scientist Vikram Sarabhai, the four-stage Vikram-1 rocket stands seven stories tall and flew in the Aagaman (meaning arrival) mission.
Space.com reported that this launch made India the third country with private orbital launch capability, following the United States and China. [IMAGE_PLACEHOLDER_1] India Today wrote that the rocket performed
a flawless, textbook launch on its first attempt. Skyroot Aerospace declared the mission a "grand success." Among the payloads carried were postcards with messages from Prime Minister Modi sent to space.
Why Vikram-1 Matters The private sector's entry into India's space industry means reduced launch costs, increased mission frequency, and serious competition in the global market. Financial Express reported
that Skyroot, a unicorn startup based in Hyderabad, has attracted major investments and has now proven its technology is practical and reliable with this successful launch. The launch began with planned
delays in the final minutes due to navigation issues, but the Skyroot team resolved them and the rocket lifted off from the first pad with an orange smoke trail. Business Standard wrote that all mission
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