Ex-ISRO Duo's Skyroot Becomes Face of India's Private Space Revolution

India's private space sector achieved a major milestone with the successful orbital mission of Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-1 launch vehicle from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The mission marks a significant step forward for the country's commercial space industry and highlights the growing role of private companies in satellite launch services. At the centre of this achievement are Skyroot Aerospace Co-Founders Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka, both former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists and IIT graduates who left government careers to establish the Hyderabad-based start-up in 2018. Their vision of making space more accessible has now positioned Skyroot as India's first space unicorn and one of the country's leading private aerospace companies.

Founded with the mission of "Opening Space for All," Skyroot Aerospace has grown rapidly from an ambitious start-up into a company valued at around $1.1 billion. The firm has attracted investments from prominent global and domestic investors, including Temasek, Meraki Labs, the founders of Greenko Group, Solar Group, Sherpalo Ventures, Worldquant Ventures, AUM Ventures and Graph Ventures. The successful Vikram-1 mission is expected to further strengthen investor confidence in India's expanding private space ecosystem, which has gained momentum following policy reforms encouraging greater participation by non-government entities.

Pawan Kumar Chandana, an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and the company's Chief Executive Officer, has overseen Skyroot's transformation into one of India's most advanced private launch vehicle developers. Under his leadership, the company built India's first privately developed rocket, established advanced manufacturing facilities in Hyderabad and assembled a large engineering workforce dedicated to developing launch vehicles for the global satellite market. Chandana has repeatedly stated that Skyroot's goal is to make access to space affordable, reliable and commercially viable through innovation, earning recognition including a place in Forbes' 30 Under 30 Asia and India Today's Next 100 Young Achievers list.

Also Read: Vikram-1 Mission Propels India's Private Space Sector Into A New Era Of Innovation

Working alongside him is Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer Naga Bharath Daka, an IIT Madras graduate and former ISRO scientist responsible for operations, avionics, guidance, navigation and control systems. Chandana and Daka were colleagues during their time at ISRO, where they shared accommodation and developed the idea of creating a private space company. Their first breakthrough came in November 2022 when the Vikram-S rocket became the first privately built rocket in India and South Asia to successfully reach space under Mission Prarambh. The latest Vikram-1 mission builds on that success by demonstrating the company's ability to place payloads into orbit and compete in the global commercial launch market.

Named after Dr Vikram Sarabhai, the father of India's space programme, Vikram-1 is an orbital-class launch vehicle designed to deploy small satellites into orbit. Standing about seven storeys tall, the rocket features three solid-fuel stages and a liquid-fuel upper stage for precise orbital insertion. It incorporates advanced technologies including an all-carbon composite structure, miniaturised avionics, high-thrust motors, a 3D-printed hypergolic engine and an orbital adjustment module capable of multiple restarts. The mission also validated Skyroot's propulsion systems, avionics, aerodynamic performance, structural design and thermal technologies, further demonstrating the company's engineering capabilities.

The success of Vikram-1 reflects the broader transformation of India's space sector, where private enterprises are increasingly complementing the country's long-established government-led space programme. Supported by reforms and regulatory oversight from IN-SPACe, companies such as Skyroot are developing indigenous launch technologies to meet the rising global demand for small satellite launches used in communications, Earth observation, navigation and scientific research. With Vikram-1 successfully completing its orbital mission, Skyroot Aerospace has strengthened India's position in the global commercial space industry while showcasing how innovation, entrepreneurship and engineering excellence are driving the country's next phase of space exploration.

Also Read: Skyroot’s Vikram-1 Becomes India’s First Private Orbital Rocket To Launch