New Delhi, July 18: In 2018, two former ISRO scientists embarked on an ambitious dream that has now become a significant success story in India’s private space sector. Under the leadership of Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharat Daka, Skyroot Aerospace has made history by successfully launching India’s first private orbital rocket.
Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharat Daka founded Skyroot Aerospace in Hyderabad with the goal of making satellite launches as easy and affordable as booking a commercial flight. Currently, Pawan Kumar Chandana serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), while Naga Bharat Daka holds the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO). Together, they lead a team of over 1,000 professionals working on rocket design, propulsion, avionics, and launch systems.
Nearly two decades ago, Pawan Kumar Chandana passed the IIT entrance exam on his first attempt and enrolled at IIT Kharagpur. While most engineering graduates pursued high-paying jobs in the tech industry, Chandana was driven by a passion for space and rockets. This passion led him to ISRO, where he was directly selected from the IIT Kharagpur campus.
At ISRO, he worked on India’s most powerful launch vehicle, the GSLV Mark-3, playing a crucial role in its development. His outstanding work earned him the Internal Innovation Award from ISRO. During his six years at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, he gained extensive experience in rocket design and development, contributing significantly to India’s growing space program.
Naga Bharat Daka, co-founder and COO of Skyroot Aerospace, previously worked as a flight computer engineer at ISRO, where he designed and developed several avionics modules for Indian launch vehicles. A graduate of IIT Madras, he holds a master’s degree in Microelectronics and VLSI Design, along with a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering. His expertise in avionics, semiconductor technology, and FPGA systems has been instrumental in the development of Skyroot Aerospace’s launch vehicles.
Initially, no investors were willing to fund the company. However, Binny Bansal, co-founder of Flipkart, was the first to place his trust in them and invest. Shortly after, the COVID-19 pandemic posed significant challenges for the company. During this difficult period, Greenko stepped in to support them. Subsequently, the company secured substantial funding of $51 million and later $60 million. Today, global investors like GIC and Temasek have shown confidence in the company, which has reached a valuation of $1.1 billion.
In 2020, Skyroot achieved the honor of being the first private company in India to successfully test the ‘Raman-1’ engine. This was followed by the ‘Dhawan-1’ cryogenic engine, and in 2021, they signed their first private agreement with ISRO. On November 18, 2022, the ‘Vikram-S’ was launched, marking the first time India witnessed a private rocket soaring into the sky. Continuous tests followed for the ‘Vikram-1’, culminating in the historic day when India’s first private orbital rocket took flight from Sriharikota, showcasing the country’s space prowess to the world.
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