Skyroot, the first private Indian company to design, build and test a solid rocket propulsion stage, has reached another key milestone in the development of its Vikram-I launch vehicle.
Founded in 2018 by former ISRO engineers Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharat Daka, the company plans to cater to the burgeoning demand from the international small satellite market.
Skyroot Aerospace has successfully raised $51 million or Rs 403 crore through a Series-B financing round led by the Singapore-headquartered long-term investment firm GIC, this makes it the largest funding round ever in India’s space technology sector by far.
This investment will help Skyroot boost its launch vehicle capabilities to tap into the fast-expanding global space economy that was cumulatively worth $469 billion in 2021. Moreover, the global space launch services market is projected to grow from $14.21 billion in 2022 to $31.90 billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 12.25 per cent, according to a recent estimate.
Vikram-I is one of a trio of rockets Skyroot is currently developing; the other two, Vikram-II and Vikram-III, will be able to carry heavier payloads with multiple orbital insertions, Skyroot says.
Pawan Kumar Chandana ,CEO said that, the test-firing of the rocket stage took place at a private test range in Nagpur City. That range belongs to Skyroot investor and industrial explosives, ammunitions and propulsion systems manufacturer Solar Industries India.
The next steps will be test firings for Stage 1 and Stage 2, Chandana said. The company’s existing funding, including an $11 million Series A and a $4.5 million bridge round, will cover most of the costs of testing. Skyroot is in the process of raising a Series B to take the company to “multiple orbital launches,” he said.
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