Arya News - What started as an ambitious idea by the two former ISRO scientists in 2018 has now grown into India’s biggest private space success story.
NEW DELHI – The historic maiden flight of Vikram-1, India’s first privately developed orbital rocket from Skyroot Aerospace, has drawn much attention, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailing the achievement that highlights the country’s growing prowess in the space sector.
The launch has also drawn attention to Skyroot Aerospace, India’s first private space sector unicorn and its founders – Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka.
What started as an ambitious idea by Chandana and Daka, both former ISRO scientists in 2018, has now grown into India’s biggest private space success story.
They founded Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace in 2018 with the ambition of making satellite launches as routine and affordable as booking a commercial flight.
The founders now lead the company as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer, respectively, overseeing a team of more than 1,000 professionals working across rocket design, propulsion, avionics and launch systems.
More than two decades ago, Pawan Kumar Chandana cleared the IIT entrance exam in his first attempt and joined the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur.
While many engineering graduates chose high-paying jobs in the technology industry, Chandana was passionate about space and rockets.
His interest led him to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), where he was recruited directly from the IIT Kharagpur campus.
At ISRO, he worked on the GSLV Mk III, India’s heaviest launch vehicle, and played a role in its development.
His work earned him an internal innovation award. During his six years at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, Chandana gained valuable experience in rocket design and development while contributing to India’s growing space programme.
Naga Bharath Daka is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Skyroot Aerospace.
Before starting the company, he worked as a flight computer engineer at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), where he designed and developed several avionics modules for Indian launch vehicles.
An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, Daka holds a master’s degree in Microelectronics and VLSI Design. He also has a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering.
He has extensive experience in avionics, semiconductor technologies and FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) systems, which has played a key role in the development of Skyroot Aerospace’s launch vehicles.
(With inputs from agencies)