Pawan Kumar Chandana has gone from earning a first salary of ₹40,000 to leading one of India’s biggest private space success stories.
A former ISRO scientist, Chandana co-founded Skyroot Aerospace in 2018 with the vision of building rockets and opening up India’s space sector to private innovation. Instead of choosing the security of a conventional career, he chose to pursue his passion for aerospace and rocket technology.
The journey was far from easy. Building an orbital rocket required years of research, engineering, testing and significant financial risk. Skyroot’s earlier Vikram-S mission in 2022 marked an important beginning for India’s private space sector.
The company’s biggest breakthrough came on July 18, 2026, when Vikram-1 successfully reached orbit. The mission made Skyroot the first Indian private company to successfully launch a privately developed orbital rocket.
The achievement placed Chandana and Skyroot at the centre of India’s growing commercial space ecosystem. The successful mission also demonstrated the increasing capabilities of Indian startups in developing complex aerospace technologies.
For Pawan Kumar Chandana, the journey is a powerful example of what can happen when passion is chosen over security, and risk is taken in pursuit of a larger vision — from a ₹40,000 first salary to making space history.
