What is Skyroot Aerospace?

Skyroot Aerospace is a private space technology company based in Hyderabad, India. The space-tech corporation seeks to manufacture aerospace technologies that allow for responsive, reliable, regular, and affordable access to space.

 

Who Are The Leaders of Skyroot Aerospace

The company was founded in 2018 by former Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) engineers, Pawan Kumar Chandana (the current CEO and CTO), and Naga Bharath Daka (current COO and Head Avionics & GNC), through the assistance of the entrepreneurs; Vasudevan Gnanagandhi (Senior Vice President, Propulsion), Ankit Nagor, and Mukesh Basal (Board of Directors &Advisor).

Other key personalities at Skyroot Aerospace include M. Amardeep (Vehicle Engineering Director), Subhananda Rao (Chief Consultant and Advisor- Propiusion), M. Yagnanarayana (Chief Designer), Ignatius C. A. (Advisor- Avionics), Kunal Gupta, and P. Sireesh (Lead- Business Development).

 

What does Skyroot Aerospace Want To Do?

The startup seeks to use the newly emerging and extraordinary opportunities in space to create a valuable company.  The idea is to focus on the key need: bring about simplicity when it comes to transportation systems from Earth.

The Hyderabad-based aero-tech startup became the first private organization to enter into a formal agreement with the ISRO to access its infrastructure, use its expertise, and qualify its first space vehicle, the Vikram-1 set for launching around the end of 2022.

This recent deal is a critical one because it shows that India is becoming more open to business and is seeking to open immense opportunities within its growing economy. This kind of shift will be critical to retaining talent and stemming brain drain that happens to many different emerging countries.

In that manner, Skyroot Aerospace is a sign that shows how quickly India is evolving and how it is changing each decade.

 

What is the Vikram 1?

Vikram 1 is an indigenous rocket developed for commercial missions. Skyroot announced in late January 2022 that it had secured a bridge funding round valued at $4.5 million to complete the space vehicle’s test-launching exercise.

To date, Vikram has raised $17 million meant for funding the planned launch. The Vikram 1 rocket is powered by the Kalam-5 solid propulsion engine.

Skyroot Aerospace also presented the Dhawan-1, its first completely 3D printed cryogenic second stage rocket engine to be used in the second rocket to be launched by the Indian startup, the Vikram-2.

When Skyroot First Started Become Relevant In the Public Eye

The tech startup first came into the public limelight when it test-fired its Raman-1 hypergolic fuel upper stage engine system in august 2020. The Raman-1 was later used as a component of the Vikram-1; the first to be tested by a private company in India.

Currently, Skyroot enjoys the support of Greenko Group, a renewable energy promoter, and Mukesh Basa, an explosives manufacturer and founder of the ISRO supplier Solar Industries and Curefit.

The company strives to be the most cost-effective space transportation company on the planet. It wants to provide its services in dedicated and on-demand shipping as well. They are also going in the same direction as other startups with hopes to release satellites and support communication services.