India (Commonwealth Union)_ Skyroot Aerospace, the pioneering company behind India’s maiden private rocket launch in 2022, has set its sights on a notable expansion. Propelled by the success of the Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission, the company is poised to double its planned launches starting in the upcoming year. With backing from Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC, the Hyderabad-based firm, helmed by co-founder Pawan Kumar Chandana, is also targeting additional capital infusion by the end of the following year.
Chandana, who envisions an ambitious journey, stated, “From 2024 and later, we’re looking at at least two launches per year and will probably ramp up as we move further.” This projection accompanies the impending launch of the company’s second rocket into space before the year’s end. Formerly affiliated with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Chandana disclosed a surge in interest from global and domestic investors following India’s groundbreaking achievement of a secure lunar south pole landing.
Notably, Skyroot Aerospace executed India’s inaugural private rocket launch, aligning with the objective of reducing satellite launch expenditures in an increasingly competitive sector that is dominated by the growing number of companies that are establishing satellite networks for broadband services, which necessitate frequent small satellite launches. Further, in anticipation of the boom in launch activity, Chandana revealed plans to augment the company’s workforce by 20% over the next two years. Parallelly, the organization has also charted a financial strategy that includes a fundraising effort in 2024, surpassing the $51 million garnered in its previous round, led by GIC. Chandana refrained from providing additional particulars and remarked, “We’re well funded for now. So, the next large fundraising round, the Series C round, will probably be in 2024 end”.
In the meantime, the Indian Space Research Organization has announced the imminent launch of India’s inaugural space-based solar observatory, the Aditya-L1, scheduled for September 2nd. This solar probe is designed to scrutinize solar winds, which have the potential to disrupt Earth’s geomagnetic environment and manifest as phenomena like auroras. Named after the Hindi word for the Sun, “Aditya,” the spacecraft will embark on its journey from Sriharikota, utilizing India’s robust launch vehicle, the PSLV, for a voyage spanning approximately 1.5 million kilometers (932,000 miles). The Indian Space Research Organization anticipates that the entire voyage will span four months from launch, and the project also received government funding amounting to around $46 million in 2019.
