Skyroot becomes India’s first private firm to test upper stage rocket engine

Bengaluru: Skyroot Aerospace, a Hyderabad-based startup says it has successfully test-fired its upper stage rocket engine, as it aims to launch its first rocket by the end of 2021.

The company which was established in 2018 by former scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) into building India’s first privately built space launch vehicles.

“No better day than Dr. Vikram Sarabhai’s birthday to announce our successful test firing of our Vikram-1 Launch vehicle’s upper stage Engine-Raman. Four Raman engines with multi-start capability produce a thrust of 3.4kN and inserts multiple satellites into orbit.” a note from the company said, without giving details of when the launch was conducted.

“We demonstrated India’s first 100 per cent 3D-printed Bi-Propellant Liquid Rocket Engine injector. Compared to traditional manufacturing this reduced the overall mass by 50 per cent, reduced total number of components and lead time by 80 per cent. The engine is capable of multiple restarts enabling them to insert various satellites into multiple orbits in a single mission,” Pawan Kumar Chandana, Co-Founder and CEO, Skyroot Aerospace said.

Two of the firm’s rocket stages are getting ready for test firing in six months, he added.

Skyroot has developed in-house software for launch vehicle guidance, navigation and control functions and testing for onboard avionics modules is in progress and the firm is targeting its first launch vehicle in December 2021, Naga Bharath Daka, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, Skyroot said.

“Our first launch vehicle ‘Vikram-I’ which is under manufacturing and targeting launch in Dec 2021, hosts an Orbit Adjustment Module (OAM) at the top which gives the final burn and inserts multiple satellites into space. In an ‘India’s first’, we successfully test-fired its liquid engine,” he said.

Skyroot will highly benefit from the newly-created Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN- SPACe)which allows access to ISRO’s testing and launch range facilities, Naga Bharath Daka said.

“We are already in active discussions with ISRO for testing activities. We look forward to utilising ISROs launch ranges for our launch,” he added.
The startup has so far raised Rs31.5 crore till now and is in the process of raising another Rs90 crore before 2021.