India can rub shoulders with top nations in spacetech, says Skyroot COO

Spacetech is one domain where India can rub shoulders with the top nations in the world, according to Skyroot Aerospace Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Naga Bharath Daka.

During a fireside chat at YourStory’s DevSparks Hyderabad 2024, an event focused on the developer ecosystem, Daka highlighted that this achievement is possible thanks to the government’s supportive policies and an existing industrial ecosystem tailored for high-tech endeavours.

According to the Skyroot COO, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has fostered a robust vendor ecosystem, including private players manufacturing aerospace-grade components in India.

“India is uniquely positioned to leverage this ecosystem and get more private endeavours,” he emphasised.

He noted that private spacetech companies in India don’t need to invest heavily in building factories for rocket manufacturing, thanks to the well-developed ecosystem.

In November 2022, Skyroot made history as the first South Asian company to reach space with the launch of its Vikram S rocket, named after Dr Vikram Sarabhai, the founder of the Indian space programme.

Daka pointed out that the government permits private entities like Skyroot to utilise public infrastructure established by ISRO, significantly reducing development costs. For instance, during the Vikram S launch, the rocket was Skyroot’s, but the launch pad and tracking facilities were provided by ISRO.

The ability to demonstrate a product without needing all the necessary funding has enabled many people to venture into spacetech, he added.

Highly supply-constrained market

While both government agencies like ISRO and private players such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX offer space launch services, Daka views space launch as a “highly supply-constrained market.”

“If a satellite has to be sent to orbit, the company sending it needs to book the ride to orbit a year in advance, despite companies like SpaceX launching very frequently,” he added.

Hyderabad-based Skyroot is developing Vikram-1, an orbital launch vehicle designed to deploy satellites into Earth’s orbit. The company aims to launch Vikram-1 by the end of this year. Once operational, it will meet satellite operators’ launch needs.

According to the Skyroot COO, India’s cost advantage, demonstrated by its affordable missions to Mars and the Moon, naturally extends to the private sector. 

Daka predicts that over the next decade, around 80% of global satellites will be small satellites weighing 500 kg or less.

“We started Skyroot with the objective to provide small launch vehicles, which can carry small satellites to orbit to provide an on-demand and affordable solution to go to space,” he noted.

Skyroot is beginning with cost-effective, expendable launch vehicles like Vikram-1, designed for small satellite launches. However, the company aims to develop reusable launch vehicles, as this technology could significantly reduce launch costs.

Future of spacetech

Currently, high access costs limit space applications, but as these costs decrease, new possibilities will emerge, such as space manufacturing and data storage, as part of Space 4.0, according to Daka.

Moreover, initiatives like the recently announced Rs 1,000-crore venture capital (VC) fund will boost India’s growing space economy.

“This push from the government, with its own fund and independent evaluation of startups, will encourage more people to venture into space. It will provide the seed capital needed to develop their MVP and raise further funds in the future,” Daka remarked.

According to him, five years ago, the VC ecosystem lacked interest in funding deeptech and spacetech companies due to policy gaps. However, this has changed, and many VCs now have developed theses for deeptech and spacetech investments.

Spacetech can be divided into upstream and downstream sectors. Upstream includes launch vehicles and space infrastructure like satellites. Downstream encompasses services derived from space, such as imaging and communication (e.g., SpaceX’s Starlink broadband). 

Daka emphasised that communication is the next big frontier, noting that in this decade, long-duration flights will offer broadband internet, thanks to emerging broadband satellites like Starlink. 

He also suggested that entrepreneurs entering the space ecosystem should consider downstream areas such as geospatial analytics, which require less capital investment.

Recently, GalaxEye, a downstream player, which develops multi-sensor imaging satellites with optical and radar technologies for continuous, all-weather Earth observation, raised $6.5 million in Series A funding.