July 2 (Reuters) - Indian space startup Skyroot Aerospace said on Thursday it was preparing for the ‌launch of its Vikram-1 rocket, the first ‌attempt by an Indian private company to place a satellite in ​orbit.

Founded by former Indian Space Research Organisation engineers, Skyroot is developing small rockets similar to those built by Rocket Lab and Firefly Aerospace.

The Vikram-1, a seven-stories-tall, multi-stage launch ‌vehicle, is designed ⁠to carry payloads of up to 350 kilograms into the low Earth orbit.

Skyroot, which ⁠became India's first space startup to reach a $1 billion valuation after raising $60 million from GIC and Sherpalo Ventures in ​May, has ​set a July 12 - ​August 4 launch window ‌for the maiden flight from the country's main spaceport, the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.

The test flight, carrying a mix of domestic and international customers, aims primarily to collect in-flight performance data across propulsion, guidance and stage ‌separation systems, the company said.

The ​launch comes as India opens ​its state-dominated space ​sector to private companies, seeking a bigger ‌share of the global market ​for satellite launches ​and related services.

Industrial groups such as Larsen & Toubro and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited are also moving into ​rocket manufacturing as ‌the government pushes to build a $44 billion space ​economy by 2033.

(Reporting by Abhinav Parmar in ​Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)