Inside skyroot: India’s trailblazing private rocket factory reshaping space ambitions

Stepping into Skyroot Aerospace’s Hyderabad facility is like walking into the future of Indian space exploration. The crisp blast of air conditioning hits you first, then the immaculate off-white interiors — a seamless blend of cutting-edge technology and sleek design — greet you.

Glass cabins named Mars, Venus, and Orion hint at the cosmos beyond. But this is no sci-fi set. This is Max-Q, India’s first private rocket factory, where rockets are born with precision, passion, and a bold vision.

Max-Q, spanning 65,000 sq ft, is part of Skyroot’s sprawling 2,00,000 sq ft Infinity Campus, home to nearly 1,000 employees working in relentless shifts. Their ambitious mission: produce one rocket a month, each ready to launch within 72 hours of demand.

From ISRO veterans to private pioneers

Bharath Daka and Pawan Chandana, two IIT graduates and former ISRO engineers, were instrumental in developing India’s heavy-lift LVM Mk-III rocket — the backbone of Chandrayaan-3’s success.

Witnessing India’s giant strides in rocketry sparked a new question: why not specialize in small satellite launches, a market ripe with opportunity?

Inspired by global pioneers like New Zealand’s Rocket Lab, the duo left ISRO in 2018, betting on India’s robust manufacturing base and tech ecosystem to build indigenous rockets. Seven years and over ₹4,000 crore in investment later, Skyroot is ready to launch Vikram-I, named in honor of space visionary Vikram Sarabhai.

Vikram-i: Compact, rapid, and revolutionary

Standing 23 meters tall, Vikram-I is a four-stage rocket engineered for rapid, cost-effective deployment of satellites weighing up to 500 kg into low-Earth and sun-synchronous orbits. Its carbon-composite body — India’s largest monolithic carbon-fibre solid motor — combines unprecedented lightness with extraordinary strength.

This modular marvel uses solid fuel in its first three stages and liquid propulsion in the final stage for pinpoint orbital insertion. With advanced 3D-printed engines and state-of-the-art avionics, Vikram-I can be assembled and integrated within an astonishing 72 hours — a feat previously unimaginable in India’s space sector.

Inside the factory, carbon fibre is meticulously baked under extreme heat and pressure in a vacuum chamber the size of a one-bedroom apartment. Teams install sophisticated flight computers, navigation sensors, propulsion controls, and communication systems, synchronizing every element to ensure flawless, autonomous flight.

Counting down to liftoff

The pressure is palpable as Vikram-I’s first parts are transported to Sriharikota for its maiden launch from ISRO’s launch pad. For Bharath and his team, success is measured by resilience and learning — every setback is fuel for innovation.

“Our mindset is zero success and 100% learning initially,” Bharath confides. “We have backups for multiple launches to take risks, fail, and refine.”

With the rocket poised to loft a 350-kilogram payload around 450 kilometers above Earth, Skyroot’s debut could herald a new chapter for India’s private space industry.

Looking beyond the horizon

Skyroot’s ambitions extend far beyond Vikram-I. Plans for Vikram-II, capable of heftier payloads and loftier orbits, are underway. There is even talk of reusable rockets akin to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 — a game-changer for cost and sustainability.

With the global satellite launch market expected to soar to $1 trillion in the next decade, capturing even a sliver of this could transform India’s space economy.

As machines hum and engineers tirelessly perfect their craft inside the Infinity Campus, Skyroot is not just building rockets — it’s launching India’s dream of space for all. Freeing ISRO to chase cosmic milestones, from human spaceflight to an Indian space station, and a lunar landing by 2040.