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Vikram-1 Success Earns Skyroot CEO TIME100 Next Recognition
Pawan Kumar Chandana helped start a company called Skyroot Aerospace.
The company builds rockets for space missions.
In July, its Vikram-1 rocket carried customer satellites into orbit.
This made Skyroot the first Indian private company to complete an orbital launch.
The success helped show that private Indian companies can do important space work.
Skyroot also became a billion-dollar company after raising nearly $60 million.
TIME magazine then selected Chandana for its TIME100 Next 2026 list of emerging leaders.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the mission and met with Chandana and co-founder Naga Bharath Daka.
Skyroot Aerospace co-founder and CEO Pawan Kumar Chandana was named to TIME100 Next 2026.
The recognition follows Skyroot’s successful Vikram-1 orbital mission in July.
Vikram-1 carried customer satellites into orbit, making Skyroot the first Indian private company to achieve an orbital launch.
Skyroot became India’s first space-tech unicorn after raising nearly $60 million at a $1.1 billion valuation.
Chandana co-founded Skyroot with former ISRO engineer Naga Bharath Daka in 2018, and the company now employs more than 1,000 people.
- Who
- Pawan Kumar Chandana, Skyroot Aerospace co-founder and CEO, was named to TIME100 Next 2026; Skyroot was founded with Naga Bharath Daka.
- What
- Chandana received TIME recognition after Skyroot’s Vikram-1 rocket successfully carried customer satellites into orbit.
- Where
- The achievement involved Skyroot Aerospace, based in Hyderabad, India.
- When
- The Vikram-1 mission occurred in July, and Chandana’s TIME100 Next 2026 recognition was announced in the same landmark year.
- Why
- The recognition followed Skyroot’s orbital-launch milestone and its rapid growth into a billion-dollar space company.
Key facts
- Recognition
- Pawan Kumar Chandana was included in TIME magazine’s TIME100 Next 2026.
- Company
- Skyroot Aerospace, a Hyderabad-based space startup.
- Mission
- Vikram-1 successfully carried customer satellites into orbit in July.
- Launch milestone
- Skyroot became the first Indian private company to successfully achieve an orbital launch.
- Funding
- Skyroot raised nearly $60 million in May.
- Valuation
- The funding round valued Skyroot at $1.1 billion, making it India’s first space-tech unicorn.
- Workforce
- TIME reported that Skyroot employs more than 1,000 people.
Sources
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