Following the successful maiden orbital launch of Vikram-1, a landmark achievement that made Skyroot Aerospace the first Indian private company to place a rocket into orbit, the company has entered a new phase of commercial execution. The milestone comes just months after Skyroot became India’s first space-tech unicorn, raising $60 million at a valuation of $1.1 billion, reinforcing investor confidence in its long-term vision.
With integrated manufacturing capabilities in Hyderabad, an expanding production footprint, and plans to increase launch cadence while advancing next-generation launch vehicles, Skyroot is positioning itself as a key enabler of the fast-growing global satellite economy. As satellite manufacturing accelerates worldwide, launch capacity remains one of the industry’s most critical bottlenecks. In this conversation, Pawan Kumar Chandana, Co-Founder and CEO, Skyroot Aerospace, discusses how the company plans to transform this challenge into an opportunity, building a dependable launch ecosystem that strengthens India’s role in the global space supply chain while enabling on-demand access to space for customers worldwide.
Skyroot has achieved a historic milestone with the successful orbital launch of Vikram-1, marking a defining moment for India’s private space sector. As you transition from proving the technology to scaling commercial operations, what are your immediate priorities over the next 12–24 months, and how does this achievement reshape Skyroot’s long-term growth strategy?
The goal remains the same as before: to build reliable and competitive launch vehicles that can significantly improve access to space for satellite operators.
Following the successful Vikram-1 mission, our focus is now on scaling execution. The capital that we rose is helping us establish a higher launch cadence, scaling up manufacturing, and developing Vikram-2, a 1-tonne class launch vehicle powered by an advanced cryogenic stage, thus expanding the range of missions and customers it can serve.
But beyond this, attracting quality capital from a diverse set of investors, including global institutional investors such as GIC, Sherpalo Ventures, and funds managed by BlackRock, shows the growing conviction the world has in the Indian space-tech industry.
This is also a vindication of our approach to build a global-first launch vehicle company from India.
Investors have called launch capability “foundational infrastructure”. How do you see Skyroot evolving from a launch provider into a core enabler of the global space supply chain?
Launch is the most supply-constrained part of the space economy. Satellite manufacturing is now widely distributed, but the ability to reliably put those satellites in orbit remains concentrated in the hands of very few countries and companies. Bridging that gap is exactly what we are building towards.
Our “cab to space” model, dedicated, on-demand launches aligned to customer timelines, directly addresses this. The scale of demand makes it urgent: the global satellite count is expected to grow from 11,000 today to 45,000 by 2030. LEO satellites typically last five to eight years, so large constellations require continuous replenishment. Add 6G and IoT infrastructure built on LEO, and you have a structural, recurring demand for launch that extends decades forward. Skyroot is positioning to be a primary supply point for that demand.
A significant share of demand is expected to come from international markets. How are you positioning Skyroot within global launch ecosystems, and what role do you see India playing – as a hub, a market, or both?
We expect roughly one-third of our demand to come from India and two-thirds internationally, with Southeast Asia, Europe, and the US as primary target markets.
The global opportunity is significant. Even countries like Australia, Canada, Germany, and Spain still do not have independent access to space and are driving significant efforts to develop these capabilities, underscoring the scale of the market gap.
India’s emergence as a private orbital launch nation will open access to customers who value diversity in such critical infrastructure. Combined with the ever-growing demand for Earth observation and communication satellites, there is a clear path to success for companies that can establish reliable launch services.
This is an abridged version of the interview published in the June edition of the Logistics Insider Magazine. To read the complete interview, click here.
