PM Modi To Unveil Skyroot’s First Orbital Rocket, Vikram-I

SUMMARY

PM Modi will also virtually inaugurate the startup’s new two Lakh sq. ft. facility, which will host a workspace for designing, developing, integrating and testing multiple launch vehicles

The new premises will be capable of building one orbital rocket every month

Founded in 2018, Skyroot claims to be the first private company to launch a rocket into space in South Asia and is now gearing up to launch its maiden orbital-class launch vehicle Vikram-1

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually unveil spacetech startup Skyroot Aerospace’s first orbital rocket, Vikram-I, tomorrow (November 27).

In a press release, the Prime Minister’s office (PMO) said that he will also virtually inaugurate the startup’s new facility, called Infinity Campus, in Hyderabad. The statement added that the facility will have a two Lakh sq. ft. workspace for designing, developing, integrating and testing multiple launch vehicles.

The new premises will be capable of building one orbital rocket every month, added the release.

Founded in 2018 by Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka, Skyroot has built a modular space launch vehicle that caters to the small satellite market. For context, modular space launch vehicles allow flexibility to interchange components as per the needs of the mission and payload.

The startup also claims to be the first private company to launch a rocket into space in South Asia. It successfully launched its launch vehicle named Vikram-S in 2022, and is now gearing up to launch its maiden orbital-class launch vehicle called Vikram-1, which can launch satellites into orbits.

As per Inc42’s Datalabs, the startup has raised more than $95 Mn in funding to date and counts the likes of WorldQuant Ventures, Graph Ventures, and Meraki Labs as its backers. It last raised $51 Mn in its Series B round led by Singapore’s sovereign fund GIC in 2022.

The unveiling comes five months after the Hyderabad-based company signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with US-based spacetech startup Axiom Space to collaborate on advancing space explorations and enhancing access to low earth orbit (LEO).

The development comes at a time when the homegrown spacetech ecosystem is witnessing rapid growth, fuelled by growing private investments, supportive government policies, liberalisation of the space sector in 2023 and new use cases.

Just last week, SIDBI Venture Capital Ltd announced the first close of spacetech-focussed Antariksh Venture Capital Fund at INR 1,005 Cr. Prior to this in August, PM Modi exhorted the spacetech ecosystem to mint five unicorns in the next five years and scale up rocket launches to 50 per year.

As a result, hundreds of local startups have sprung up across the space value chain, from developing reusable rockets and satellites to offering data analytics services. These new-age companies have raised millions of dollars in funding and cater to big clients.

At the heart of all this is the country’s growing spacetech economy, which is projected to become a $77 Bn opportunity by 2030.