00:00Now, India's private space sector is set to enter a new phase as Skyroot Aerospace prepares to launch its Vikram
00:07-1 rocket reportedly within the next few weeks, and some say perhaps the next few months.
00:12The company has been quoted saying it wants to enable on-demand satellite launches for a fast-growing global market.
00:18The milestone underscores the impact of recent policy reforms aimed at opening India's space industry to private players.
00:28Joining us exclusively now, Skyroot Aerospace co-founder and CEO Pawan Chandana.
00:33Pawan, good to have you with us.
00:34And clarity, when that launch is going to happen? In a couple of weeks? In a couple of months?
00:38It should happen in the next couple of months, and most of the rocket is already at the launch site,
00:43and the rest of it is, as we speak, en route to the launch site.
00:47And we kick off the campaign near the launch site, and it should happen in the next two months.
00:52Pretty exciting. Anything that could derail it in any way, you're 100% confident it will launch?
00:57Yeah, so in fact, the first launches are always tricky, because a lot of new things we learn on the
01:01go.
01:02So it's difficult to say at this moment, but I think it looks good to me so far.
01:07What's been the biggest engineering leap for Skyroot to allow it to come this far?
01:13I think it's just like building rockets are the toughest feat in engineering, and that's how it's called rocket science.
01:19And so we have taken years of phenomenal effort by brilliant engineers putting together, built by the ecosystem, by the
01:28government, by, you know, innovations all coming through together to make this happen.
01:34So I think it's literally rocket science, and, you know, leap is just to get to the launch pad and
01:39take off soon.
01:40And, of course, we should point out you are the first Indian private Indian company to launch a rocket.
01:48I mean, how significant do you think that is and that will be for a country that wants to be
01:53a player in the space industry?
01:55Yeah. In fact, India is among the top five nations globally.
01:58As you know, like, India has landed a spacecraft on the south pole of the moon, first time in the
02:02world.
02:02India has reached the orbit of Mars, first time in the world, in the first attempt.
02:06So I think, like, India has been, like, spacefaring for the last six years and among the top few nations.
02:12And now I think private sector opening up will also increase India's pie in the global commercial space market.
02:19And that's where, like, private companies like us coming and growing big is very important for the country.
02:23But the market is all global.
02:25I mean, like, you know, significant market is global.
02:27We compete with the best in the world.
02:28And then, like, you know, coming from India, doing deep tech and doing space is thanks to the ecosystem we've
02:34built over decades is what is, you know, we are standing on that shoulder to make it faster.
02:39It is expensive mostly, but India does it.
02:43You've done it cheaper than the U.S. has.
02:46But it doesn't mean that you don't need the funding.
02:48Might you need, you know, massive infusion as you become a global player, as you compete on the global space?
02:53Yeah.
02:54So, I think one good thing is that we've been incredibly capital efficient.
02:58Probably we have spent ten times less than, you know, what many companies have done, what we are doing so
03:03far.
03:04So, that makes us, I think, very capital efficient.
03:07And we're the largest funded, you know, space company in India right now.
03:11And we're still, of course, you know, we'll keep raising capital.
03:14But we've been very frugal, very efficient at using it.
03:17Probably, you know, one of the most cost-efficient companies globally in the sector.
03:20Would you keep raising capital by IPO-ing?
03:24Is that part of the plan?
03:25I mean...
03:26Yeah, I mean, right now, I think, as you know, like, we're just getting into our initial launches and getting
03:30commercial in a couple of years.
03:32And then let's see how it goes from there.
03:34What milestones would you like to achieve before you IPO and go to market?
03:38So, I think we should get the launch profitable.
03:41You know, so I think that this year we'll have, like, the initial launches, which will prove the technology of
03:46being able to put satellites into orbit.
03:48And then once it is there, we start commercial launching.
03:51And then, like, we scale up the number of launches.
03:53So, I think we need certain launch cadence to, you know, get to profitability.
03:56Hopefully, we should do it as quickly as possible.
03:58And then I think probably, you know, we can see how to scale from there.
04:02It is about being competitive and keeping the cost down.
04:04If you take a look at Elon Musk, Starlink, and Starship.
04:08Yeah.
04:08There are already plans for reusability.
04:11Yeah.
04:11That's to ensure that cost is kept low.
04:13Yes.
04:14How would you respond, what would be your counter-argument and counter-strategy if Starlink and Starship becomes reusable?
04:22Yeah.
04:22No, no.
04:22I think Starship is in the verge of getting to full reusability.
04:26Hopefully, this year, we should get it going.
04:28And at Skyroot, you know, we operate in a different set of market.
04:31You know, we call it, like, the Uber to go to space.
04:34You know, where, like, people can, you know, satellite companies can book their ride, book the entire rocket,
04:39ride to unique destinations in space, which the larger rockets will not be, you know, able to do, even being,
04:44like, fully reusable.
04:45So, that's where, like, I think we operate in a very niche market.
04:49Think of it like, you know, we're like the business jet, you know.
04:52And unlike, like, you know, there's a commercial market, it's so big, you know, we're not a commercial airliner, but
04:57we're a business jet.
04:58So, it's a different market in itself.
05:00That's where we're starting with.
05:01And I think, like, we're super competitive.
05:03We will be super competitive in this space as we scale.
05:07And then probably in the future, you know, we'll do something much larger.
05:11But it's also an increasingly competitive space, right?
05:14I mean, how do you set yourself apart?
05:15Yeah.
05:16So, see, globally, I mean, there are very few companies who are launching rockets to space.
05:20You know, so just being part of the club itself is being super competitive because the need for launch is
05:25so high.
05:25And the number of players who are actually launching is extremely low.
05:28I mean, like, lower single digit.
05:29And then that's where, like, you know, we are a seven, eight-year-old company and getting to launching and
05:35then, like, you know, scaling up from there very quickly.
05:37I think it's very important for us to be among those light club of companies who are, like, doing launches.
05:42I'm just wondering if the global investors who are watching you right now, are there misconceptions about, you know, India's
05:51space startup scene?
05:53No, I think it's very bullish.
05:54That's the reason why we're able to attract a lot of, you know, good capital.
05:59From across the world, we have, like, some of the largest global funds, like, you know, GIC, Tamasek, you know,
06:04investing in Skyroot.
06:06And then we'll have even larger funds, you know, also, like, looking at, you know, very, very positively at Skyroot
06:12and some having such large funds, you know, backing us already.
06:16And then also looking at Skyroot is also a great signal that, you know, India is super competitive in respect
06:21to space.
06:22So is Elon Musk a competitor?
06:24Might he be a partner?
06:25How are you looking at what he's doing in space as well?
06:28Oh, of course.
06:28I mean, Elon has been the biggest inspiration in the space sector.
06:32I mean, he's pushed boundaries nobody has done.
06:33And, in fact, he made, like, the world's most valuable private company is a rocket company, you know.
06:40So that's the kind of opportunity he has shown everybody.
06:43So I think we fully respect that.
06:45And then we, so what we, like I mentioned, so the kind of market which we go after is slightly,
06:49you know, different and more niche.
06:51And, you know, so right now, you know, so that's what we get into and operate in that market.
06:57But eventually, I think the space is large enough for, you know, multiple players doing things differently.
07:02And then, you know, and the market is pretty, pretty large and growing as we go.
07:06Howan, we're having this conversation amid any one war that's gone to day 60.
07:11Has it impacted your operations?
07:14Has it impacted Skyroot in any way?
07:16You're talking about AI?
07:18Yeah, yeah.
07:18So right now, I think, you know, physical AI is still, you know, limited in the hardware side of things.
07:26And it's now increasingly coming into, you know, building, you know, building a rocket.
07:30You can actually use AI and make it faster, much efficient than what it is before.
07:34You can reduce the cycles of development.
07:36Iterations will become shorter, faster.
07:39And I think we are really looking forward to, you know, using it and, you know, making it as quickly
07:44as possible.
07:45And the Iran war, is it impacting supply chain?
07:47Are you seeing any disruption anywhere?
07:50Oh, yeah.
07:50So I think right now, the rockets we're building are more than 90% sourced within India.
07:57You know, I think that's, and most of the market is global.
08:00And the sourcing is completely domestic.
08:03I think so our supply chain is highly resilient.
08:06And thanks to the space ecosystem in India, like, over 60 years, we've built an ecosystem.
08:10For example, the next rocket we are launching, we have 400, more than 400 suppliers all within India.
08:15And that's where, like, I think we have been, like, very resilient and also very independent to, you know, global
08:21geopolitics in a way.
08:22That we are, like, self-sufficient.
08:24And in India, what we call it as, like, Atmanarbar, that means, like, self-resilient country.
08:29And five, ten years down the road, what's the ambition?
08:31How will Skyroot look then?
08:33Yeah, I think we see we want to crack the launch apart because very few players.
08:38I think the moment you get to regular launching, you know, I think that itself sets us apart
08:44and become one of the few top companies globally, you know, doing it.
08:48The next five, ten years, we want to be, like, you know, globally one of the top few space companies.
08:52And having, of course, happening from India, I think India has a lot of very strong foundations,
08:58like great talent, great infrastructure, great launch pads, great government regulatory support.
09:02I think these are all great fundamentals to build a great company from India.
Comments