Rocket Boys: The team behind Vikram-S, India’s first private rocket

It’s the “prarabhm” of a new era in India’s space sector, as the country sees the launch of its first private rocket . Vikram-S, a suborbital rocket, successfully lifted off at 11.30 am from Sriharikota, paving the way for the private sector in an industry which has been dominated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for decades.

The rocket has been developed by Skyroot Aerospace, a four-year-old Hyderabad-based start-up. The launch was backed by ISRO and IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre).

“A historic moment for India as the rocket Vikram-S, developed by Skyroot Aerospace, took off from Sriharikota today! It is an important milestone in the journey of India’s private space industry,” tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A historic moment for India as the rocket Vikram-S, developed by Skyroot Aerospace, took off from Sriharikota today! It is an important milestone in the journey of India’s private space industry. Congrats to @isro & @INSPACeIND for enabling this feat. pic.twitter.com/IqQ8D5Ydh4

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 18, 2022

It was only in 2020 that India opened up the space sector for private companies, allowing them to build rockets and satellites. And in about two years, Skyroot has created history .

We take a look at the firm and the men behind it.

Also read: With Vikram-S, India joins the ‘private rocket’ club: Which other countries have achieved this feat?

The birth of Skyroot

The firm was launched in June 2018 by two engineers Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka. Both had stints at ISRO. But in 2015, Daka, who was bullish about the big role the private sector would play in the space industry, quit his job. Chandana joined him a few years later and together they founded Skyroot.

The firm aims to “open space for all, by pushing the boundaries of today’s technology”. It is “working towards a future where space becomes part of our lives”, and claims that “such a transition will transform humankind like never before”.

At first, Skyroot built rocket components to send satellites into space. After the Indian government opened the sector to private firms, it promptly signed up with ISRO, which allows such players to use the agency’s launching facilities. Skyroot was the first to make its move.

In September 2011, the start-up formally entered an agreement with ISRO to use its expertise and access facilities for its rockets. A year on, it raised a record $51 million (Rs 416.7 crore) in a series-B funding round, the largest ever in the Indian space-tech sector, according to a report in the BBC.

And today it has taken a successful giant leap. “We made history today by launching India’s first private rocket. It is a symbol of new India, and just the #Prarambh of a great future,” Chandana wrote on Twitter.

“We made history today by launching India’s first private rocket. It is a symbol of new India, and just the #Prarambh of a great future.” Pawan Kumar Chandana, Co-Founder Skyroot Aerospace. Keep watching https://t.co/p2DOuRFiIA#Prarambh #OpeningSpaceForAll

— Skyroot Aerospace (@SkyrootA) November 18, 2022

The men behind the launch

Chandana and Daka, the two former ISRO scientists, now function as the chief executive officer and chief operating officer of Skyroot respectively.

Chandana, 32, is a rocket engineer who studied at IIT-Kharagpur. He hails from Vishakapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

While he was pursuing mechanical engineering, he was fascinated by space science. “We always used to watch the news of ISRO’s launches. It was fascinating for me as a mechanical engineering student that a complex machine built by humans was going to space,” Chandana told Moneycontrol.

A campus placement landed him a job at ISRO, where he worked with the space agency’s rocket-building facility, the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) for six years. He was part of the team which worked on the GSLV-Mk3 , the largest rocket built by ISRO so far. Chandana’s interest in projectiles increased “100 times” at ISRO.

At VSSC, he found a like-minded colleague in Daka. An IIT-Madras alumni, the 33-year-old holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in microelectronics and VLS (vertical launching system) design.

Daka worked as a flight computer engineer at the space centre helping build hardware and firmware for multiple onboard computer modules that implement the sequencing, navigation, control and guidance functions for launch vehicles, according to a report in The Times of India.

The two keenly followed the rise of private firms in the space sector and dreamt about building something similar. But back then while India had the potential, it did not have a space policy that allowed for commercial development. Nevertheless, they took a chance and it worked out well.

“It was a chicken and egg problem. Unless companies come, there won’t be a policy. So we were one of the first few companies to take a leap of faith,” Chandana told Moneycontrol.

Apart from the two at the helm of Skyroot, the team comprises former ISRO scientist Gnanagandhi V. A Padma Shri awardee and a pioneer of cryogenic rocket propulsion, he handles the firm’s liquid propulsion and cryogenic development.

Other veterans from the industry Eswaran VG, a solid propulsion expert and the project director on Mk3, and Sevalaraju S, a former director of systems, reliability and quality at ISRO, are also part of the team.

The big feats

While the Vikram-S launch is Skyroot’s biggest achievement so far, it is not the only feather in their cap. In November 2021, it successfully tested India’s first privately developed fully cryogenic rocket engine —Dhawan-I — running on two high-performance rocket propellants, Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) & Liquid Oxygen (LoX).

Cryogenic engines are highly efficient rocket propulsion systems. They are suitable for the upper stages of a rocket as they have a higher specific impulse that enhances payload-carrying capability. Challenging to master, this technology has been demonstrated by only a few nations.

For these Rocket Boys, the sky is the limit. Vikram-S has taken off and the firm has newer heights to reach.

With inputs from agencies

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