According to reports, Skyroot Aerospace, a Hyderabad-based startup, has successfully raised US$51 million (Rs 403 crore).
It plans to meet the growing demand for small satellites from international markets. India’s first privately developed space launch vehicle is being developed by Skyroot.
The Vikram series of launch vehicles is named after the founder of India’s space program – Dr. Vikram Sarabhai.
A Vikram Series rocket can launch up to 800 kg of payloads into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) thanks to its unique all-carbon fiber structure.
As part of the Indian government’s major thrust into the space sector, it has opened it up to private sector players including startups, and encouraged private investment.
The funding round was led by GIC, one of the most established investors in India. The company announced on Friday that Mayank Rawat, Managing Director of GIC India Direct Investment Group, will join Skyroot’s Board.
With this round, they will fund all of their initial developmental launches, and build the infrastructure to meet the high launch cadences required by the satellite customers, said Pawan Kumar Chandana, Co-Founder, and CEO of Skyroot.
India’s first cryogenic, hypergolic-liquid, and solid fuel rocket engines have been successfully built and tested by Skyroot, a company that is four years old. As a result of the additional funding, the world space engineering team will be able to expand its current capabilities, which are close to 200 employees with rocket experience.
Co-founder and COO of Skyroot, Naga Bharath Daka, said they have validated all three propulsion technologies in their Vikram space launch vehicles. This year, they will also launch a demonstrator into space. With this round, they will be able to launch commercial satellites within a year. For their upcoming launches, they have already begun booking payload slots.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Skyroot and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to share facilities and expertise.
(This story has been sourced from a third-party syndicated feed, agencies. Raavi Media accepts no responsibility or liability for the text’s dependability, trustworthiness, reliability, and data. Raavi Media management/ythisnews.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content at its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.)
