Archive · 3 Oct 2026
Skyroot’s Vikram-1 Success Brings Chandana TIME100 Next Recognition
Pawan Kumar Chandana helped start a rocket company called Skyroot Aerospace with Naga Bharath Daka in 2018.
Before that, he worked on rockets at India’s space agency, ISRO.
Skyroot built a rocket called Vikram-1.
In July, it carried customer satellites into orbit.
The articles describe this as the first successful orbital launch by an Indian private company.
Skyroot has also raised nearly $60 million and is valued at about $1.1 billion.
TIME named Chandana to its 2026 list of emerging leaders.
The recognition draws attention to his work and to India’s growing private space industry.
Skyroot Aerospace co-founder and CEO Pawan Kumar Chandana was named to TIME’s TIME100 Next 2026 list.
Chandana worked as an engineer at the Indian Space Research Organisation before co-founding Skyroot with Naga Bharath Daka in 2018.
Skyroot’s Vikram-1 carried customer satellites into orbit in July; one article gives the launch date as July 18, 2026.
The articles describe the mission as the first successful orbital launch by an Indian private company, with one specifying it launched from Indian soil.
Skyroot raised nearly $60 million in May at a reported $1.1 billion valuation and employs more than 1,000 people.
- Who
- Pawan Kumar Chandana, Skyroot Aerospace co-founder and CEO, and co-founder Naga Bharath Daka.
- What
- Chandana was named to TIME100 Next 2026 after Skyroot’s Vikram-1 achieved an orbital launch carrying customer satellites.
- When
- The recognition is for 2026; the Vikram-1 launch took place in July. One article specifies July 18, 2026.
- Where
- Skyroot is based in Hyderabad, India; an article says Vikram-1 launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
- Why
- The recognition follows Chandana’s leadership at Skyroot and the company’s orbital-launch milestone.
- Recognition
- Pawan Kumar Chandana was named to TIME magazine’s TIME100 Next 2026.
- Company
- Skyroot Aerospace is a Hyderabad-based private space company co-founded by Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka in 2018.
- Prior work
- Chandana worked as an engineer at the Indian Space Research Organisation before founding Skyroot.
- Vikram-1 mission
- The rocket carried customer satellites into orbit in July; one article specifies July 18, 2026, and identifies the launch site as Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
- Launch milestone
- The articles describe it as the first successful orbital launch by an Indian private company.
- Funding and valuation
- Skyroot raised nearly $60 million in May at a reported valuation of $1.1 billion.
- Workforce
- Skyroot employs more than 1,000 people.
