Skyroot Aerospace
Vikram-1 reached low Earth orbit on its first flight on 18 July 2026, making Skyroot the first private Indian company to reach orbit.
- Founded
- 2018
- Headquarters
- Hyderabad, India
- Ownership
- Private
- Employees
- 1,000as of 2026
Quick Facts
About Skyroot Aerospace
Vikram-1 reached low Earth orbit on its first flight on 18 July 2026, making Skyroot the first private Indian company to reach orbit. Skyroot Aerospace is India's leading private rocket company, becoming the first Indian private firm to launch a rocket to space when its Vikram-S suborbital vehicle reached 89.5 km altitude in November 2022 — a milestone enabled by ISRO's IN-SPACe framework that opened Indian space to private operators in 2020.
Founded in 2018 in Hyderabad by ex-ISRO engineers, Skyroot is developing the Vikram-1 (500 kg to LEO) and Vikram-2 orbital launch vehicles using a combination of carbon-fiber composite structure and 3D-printed engines, significantly reducing manufacturing time and cost. The company has raised about $60 million in May 2026 at a $1.1 billion valuation, India's first space-technology unicorn, on top of roughly $68 million raised earlier from investors including GIC (Singapore sovereign wealth fund), Temasek, Lightspeed India, and others. Skyroot's Kalam engine series uses solid or liquid propellants depending on stage, targeting the growing Indian and global small satellite launch market.
Products and product lines
| Product | Line | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Vikram-1 | Orbital launch vehicle | Four-stage small-lift rocket (three solid stages plus a liquid-propellant kick stage) rated for up to 350 kg to LEO; successfully reached orbit on its first attempt on 18 July 2026, flying Mission Aagaman from Sriharikota. |
| Vikram-S | Suborbital technology demonstrator | Single-stage suborbital rocket that reached about 89.5 km on 18 November 2022, India's first private rocket launch and the flight-test precursor to Vikram-1. |
| Vikram-2 | Orbital launch vehicle (in development) | Larger orbital vehicle planned to follow Vikram-1 in Skyroot's launch family. |
| Kalam engine series | Rocket propulsion | Family of solid- and liquid-propellant engines, including 3D-printed designs, used across Skyroot's stages to cut manufacturing time and cost. |
| Infinity Campus | Manufacturing facility | 200,000-square-foot Hyderabad manufacturing campus inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 27 November 2025, built for capacity of about one orbital rocket per month. |
| MAX-Q facility | Integration and test facility | 60,000-square-foot integrated test facility near Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, opened in October 2023. |
Timeline
- 2018 Skyroot Aerospace is founded on 12 June by former ISRO engineers Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka. [source]
- 2023 Skyroot raises a $27.5 million pre-Series C round on 30 October led by Temasek Holdings, taking cumulative funding to about $95 million. [source]
- 2025 Skyroot signs a memorandum of understanding with Axiom Space on 25 June to collaborate on low Earth orbit access and space infrastructure. [source]
- 2025 Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates Skyroot's 200,000 sq ft Infinity Campus in Hyderabad on 27 November, built for roughly one orbital rocket a month. [source]
- 2026 Skyroot raises about $60 million on 7 May, becoming India's first space-tech unicorn at a $1.1 billion valuation. [source]
- 2026 Skyroot readies Vikram-1 for its debut orbital launch window (12 July - 4 August), with a targeted date of 18 July from Sriharikota's Satish Dhawan Space Centre, carrying customer cubesats on Mission Aagaman. [source]
- 2026 Vikram-1 launches on 18 July at 06:35:30 UTC and successfully reaches low Earth orbit on its first attempt, deploying seven payloads about 15 minutes after liftoff and making India the third country with private orbital launch capability. [source]
Pawan Kumar Chandana (CEO, Co-founder)
Team
- Pawan Kumar ChandanaCEO · source
Signals
- Verification
- Verified 2026-09-09
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Frequently asked about Skyroot Aerospace
Quick answers to the questions readers most often search for.
- When was Skyroot Aerospace founded?
- Skyroot Aerospace was founded in 2018 in India.
- Where is Skyroot Aerospace headquartered?
- Skyroot Aerospace is headquartered in Hyderabad, India.
- What does Skyroot Aerospace do?
- Vikram-1 reached low Earth orbit on its first flight on 18 July 2026, making Skyroot the first private Indian company to reach orbit. Skyroot Aerospace is India's leading private rocket company, becoming the first Indian private firm to launch a rocket to space when its Vikram-S suborbital vehicle reached 89.5 km altit…
- Is Skyroot Aerospace a public or private company?
- Skyroot Aerospace is a privately held company and is not listed on any stock exchange.
- What sector does Skyroot Aerospace operate in?
- Skyroot Aerospace works in launch services.
Sources
The structured fields on this page (founding year, location, sector, status, listing) and the profile text are drawn from the sources below. How profiles are drafted and checked is described in our methodology.
- Official website (skyroot.in)
- Company LinkedIn page
- Wikidata / Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-09-05
- Wikipedia: Vikram-1 · retrieved 2026-09-09
- The Print: Skyroot's Vikram-1 to Launch on 18 July, Sriharikota Viewing Gallery Opens Registrations (16 Jul 2026) · retrieved 2026-09-09
- Skyroot Aerospace: Newsroom · retrieved 2026-09-09
Data Accuracy Notice: Information about Skyroot Aerospace is compiled from publicly available sources including company websites, press releases, regulatory filings, and industry reports. Data is reviewed periodically but may not reflect the most recent developments.