Indian space tech has been exceptional in performance since many years. It was time that some startups also made their name in this field. Talking about achieving milestones, Skyroot, an Indian space tech startup, just test-fired an upper stage rocket engine with triumph. Skyroot has thus become the first Indian private company to demonstrate the capability of building an indigenous rocket engine.
It is headquartered in Hyderabad, backed by Curefit founders Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori, claimed that their 3D-printed rocket engine, named ‘Raman’ after the legendary personality and scientist Dr. CV Raman, is capable of multiple restarts, enabling the launch vehicle to insert various satellites into multiple orbits in a single mission.
The startup was founded by Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka, both former scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Skyroot builds small satellite launch vehicles (SSLV) for small satellites. Along with this, the startup has also been a helping hand at manufacturing – Vikram I, II, and III – named after Indian physicist and astronomer Vikram Sarabhai, the founder of ISRO. The first of these rockets would be able to launch satellites weighing 250-700 kg into the earth’s lower orbit.
In June, the government, in a meeting chaired by PM Modi, decided on opening up the space sector for private participation. During the announcement, it was said that IN-SPACe would be functioning within six months, and would provide a “level-playing field” to private companies in the country’s space programs. All private companies would be led by ISRO’s infrastructural, scientific and technical resources for the betterment and adequate functioning of their space programs.