India's Skyroot successfully launches orbital rocket, becomes first private firm to achieve orbital launch

• GIC- and BlackRock-backed Indian space startup Skyroot is planning to start commercial operations in 2027.
• Skyroot will compete in the sub-1,000 kg market with U.S.-based startups such as Rocket Lab, Firefly Aerospace, Astra Space, and Chinese private firms i-Space, Galactic Energy, CAS Space.
• The market size for the sub-1,000 kg category was $5 billion in 2025, as per Analysys Mason.

Hello, this is Priyanka Salve, writing to you from Singapore.

Welcome to the latest edition of "Inside India" — your one-stop destination for stories and developments from the world's fastest-growing large economy.

On Saturday, Indian space-tech startup Skyroot successfully test-launched a low-orbit rocket carrying a payload of 350 kilograms, marking its entry into the global satellite launch market dominated by American and Chinese companies. I caught up with the co-founder of Skyroot to unpack what's next for the country's first space tech unicorn.

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The Big Story

The demand for satellite launches is rising globally, as there are just a handful of rocket companies with the capability to make space deliveries. Naga Bharath Daka, co-founder of Indian space tech startup Skyroot that recently joined the elite space club, is determined to capitalize on the opportunity.

Skyroot will start its commercial operations in 2027 and plans to launch "one flight every month," he told CNBC, adding that after one more test flight later this year, the launches will be commercialized.

"We will be the most cost-competitive launch vehicle in this space [small payload], even before the economies of scale come into play," Daka said.

Cost competitiveness has been a hallmark of India's space tech. In the past, state-agency Indian Space Research Organization has executed Mars and Moon missions at a fraction of the cost spent by countries in the West. Both founders of Skyroot, Daka and Pawan Kumar Chandana, are former employees of ISRO.

Referring to Elon Musk's SpaceX, Daka said the company follows a "fail smarter and grow faster" strategy, which leads to rapid technological progress but it "burns a lot of cash." "We had to be ultra cautious with money," and the focus was on getting "the first time right."

Entering the Global Space

On Saturday at 11:30 a.m. Indian Standard Time, Skyroot successfully launched a test rocket carrying a 350-kilogram payload into low orbit, making it the first Indian private company with orbital space launch capability, and joining the league of China and the U.S.

Skyroot will compete in the sub-1,000 kg market with U.S.-based startups such as Rocket Lab, Firefly Aerospace, Astra Space, and Chinese private firms i-Space, Galactic Energy, CAS Space, as per data shared by market intelligence firm Analysys Mason.

Small launchers solve critical operational, strategic, and financial bottlenecks that large "bus lines" to space — think bigger payload carriers like SpaceX — cannot handle.

"A small rocket acts like an orbit-on-demand taxi," explains Ujjwal Chaudhry, a partner at Analysys Mason.

R. Satish Babu | Afp | Getty Images

They deliver a single customer's payload directly to its precise location in space, unlike with big launchers that drop payloads in approximate positions from where satellite operators maneuver them into the exact position using internal fuel and time, he said.

These rockets offer a dedicated launch window, so small satellites do not have to wait for "ridesharing" with larger satellite launches.

Though the market size was just $5 billion in 2025, according to Analysys Mason, fewer companies operate in this segment, presenting a significant opportunity for Skyroot.