"It will take a few launches to become profitable. We expect to do enough launches within a year or two after the first one to become sustainable and profitable," Chandana said.
Vikram-S, a carbon composite suborbital rocket carrying three customer payloads, launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 11:30 am.
Kalam-5 is the first of five Kalam series of solid rocket motors, while the rest four are expected to be tested next year.