Pawan Kumar Chandana Education: IIT Kharagpur alumnus from math difficulties to Skyroot’s Vikram-1 launch
India marked a milestone in its private aerospace sector as Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace successfully launched the country’s first privately built orbital rocket, Vikram-1, from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota. Named ‘Mission Agaman’, the mission will deliver technology demonstration payloads from Indian and international customers into low-Earth orbit, while also placing symbolic payloads including a handwritten ‘Vande Mataram’ postcard of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, postcards of scientists and astronauts, and miniature art installations.Ahead of the launch, Pawan Kumar Chandana, CEO and co-founder of Skyroot Aerospace, described the mission as a landmark moment for the Indian space ecosystem. Chandana said: “Today, we are at the Sriharikota Spaceport in India, where India’s first private orbital rocket will be launched. This is the first time in India that an orbital rocket has been developed by a private company and transported to the launch site and is about to take off. This is a proud moment for India.”He added: “There are very few companies in the world that are actually launching rockets into orbit and very few companies are operating conventional orbital rockets. This is a very unique capability that the world needs. As an Indian company, we are very proud that we are about to conduct the first test flight of Vikram-1.”Behind this achievement is a journey that began with academic struggles and eventually led Chandana from a classroom in Hyderabad to India’s space program and later to establishing one of India’s leading private space companies.
From struggling in mathematics to IIT Kharagpur
Born in Hyderabad in 1991, Chandana’s school days gave no hint of a future in rocket science. He once scored just 51 in math, a subject that would become the core of his engineering career.With his father’s encouragement, he signed up for IIT entrance examination coaching. The experience gradually changed his attitude towards mathematics and helped him qualify at IIT Kharagpur in his first attempt.In 2007, Chandana joined IIT Kharagpur where she pursued B.Tech-M.Tech dual degree program in Mechanical Engineering. While many of his peers chose corporate careers, Chandana chose to pursue his interest in space technology.
ISRO builds rocket
After graduation, Chandana joined the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in 2012. Working at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center in Thiruvananthapuram for nearly six years, he was involved in the GSLV Mk-III project, S-200 Solid Rocket Booster and later as Deputy Project Manager for Small Satellite Launch Vehicles.His contributions earned him an Internal Innovation Award in 2016. However, despite the lack of a policy framework for private participation at the time, Chandana also began to explore the possibility of establishing a private aerospace company.
Taking the Entrepreneurial Leap
In 2018, Chandana resigned from ISRO and co-founded Skyroot Aerospace with former ISRO engineer Naga Bharath Daka.Starting a space technology company comes with financial challenges. Chandana contacted entrepreneur Mukesh Bansal via LinkedIn to seek support. Bansal invested US$1.5 million in the joint venture. During the pandemic, Greenko’s founders provided additional support, allowing Skyroot to continue its growth plans.The company achieved another milestone in 2020 when it successfully tested the Raman-1 engine, becoming the first private Indian company to test a rocket engine.
The rise of Skyroot in India’s private aerospace sector
After the Indian aerospace sector opened up to private companies in 2021, Skyroot signed an agreement with ISRO and raised $51 million in what was then India’s largest round of deep technology funding.In November 2022, the company launched India’s first privately developed suborbital rocket Vikram-S under the Prarambh mission.The successful launch of Vikram-1 makes Skyroot one of the few private companies in the world capable of developing and launching orbital rockets.
Company valuation and future
Skyroot Aerospace was valued at about $1.1 billion after raising $60 million in a May 2026 funding round. While Chandana has not publicly disclosed his personal net worth, his wealth is closely tied to company valuations.As Vikram-1 successfully enters orbit, Chandana’s journey reflects the rapid growth of India’s private space sector – from a struggling math student to leading one of the country’s most important commercial space missions.
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