Skyroot Aerospace has become India's first space launch vehicle unicorn.

Synopsis Hyderabad's Skyroot Aerospace has become India's first space launch vehicle unicorn. This achievement fuels the nation's space technology sector. The company is preparing for its Vikram-1 rocket launch. This development signifies a major shift for Indian businesses. The space sector presents a significant economic opportunity. However, government decisions regarding technology transfer could impact private companies like Skyroot and Agnikul Cosmos. Hyderabad-based startup Skyroot Aerospace becoming India's first launch vehicle unicorn, at a $1.1 bn valuation and raising $60 mn in funding, is rocket fuel for India's space-tech industry. Building India's first private launch vehicle Vikram-1, expected to lift off in the coming weeks, is not just a space engineering landmark but also marks a paradigm shift for India Inc. Space is, if not necessarily the final frontier, a strategic must - and a $1.8 tn business opportunity. Sectors like telecom, agriculture, weather sciences, defence, financial services, infra all stand to make a quantum leap with Isro now having serious company. There is no reason why the likes of Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin should be the only ones going on a star trek. Skyroot's capital infusion will accelerate product and tech development. But the bigger challenge will be ensuring that India's space tech ecosystem scales up quickly, sticks to timelines and sustains momentum. For a government aiming to capture a $44 bn share of the global space pie by 2032, its recent decision to transfer Isro's technology for small satellite launch vehicle (SSLV) to another PSU, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), could rob fledgling private startups of their right to claim their shares of the pie in the sky. HAL will now compete with Skyroot, and Chennai-based Agnikul Cosmos, leveraging its $4.5 bn in cash/liquid balances to seriously disrupt commercial dynamics, giving the PSU a head start with proven rocketry tech prowess. Price-competitive solutions for advanced manufacturing tech like 3D printing and carbon fibre composites may well be India's secret to gaining market share, and swing global perception for homegrown solutions. This was a key trigger for GoI's decision to open up the space sector in 2020, along with overcoming Isro's capacity constraints that had hampered on-demand commercial launches. Which is why policy confusion must not lead to wobbles in India's soaring ambitions. Private space tech needs all the thrust that it can get. (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online. ...more

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