Ex-ISRO Chief S Somanath Joins Skyroot Aerospace’s honorary Chief Technical Advisor

Former ISRO chairman S Somanath, who led the Chandrayaan-3 lunar landing mission, has been appointed as the honorary chief technical advisor at Hyderabad-based startup Skyroot Aerospace.

A specialist in launch vehicles, Somanath will guide Skyroot as it gets ready to launch Vikram-1 — a 23-meter rocket made from carbon composites. It’s India’s first rocket of this kind and includes a liquid-engine module to help place satellites in precise orbits. This mission follows the success of Skyroot’s 2022 launch of Vikram-S, the first Indian private rocket to reach space with ISRO's support.

Skyroot also announced a new partnership with Axiom Space, which launched its fourth private mission to the International Space Station on June 25, carrying Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla.

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The Houston-based company will explore using Skyroot’s technology for sending research payloads, orbital data center modules, and other missions — both to the Axiom Space Station and independently in low Earth orbit (LEO).

"Launching satellites to orbit—a feat accomplished by only a handful of companies globally—requires the coming together of the very best minds, especially as we attempt it for the very first time as a private space startup from India," said Pawan Kumar Chandana, cofounder of Skyroot Aerospace.

The former ISRO chief new role is advisory and honorary and the company clarified that it is non exclusive. "With decades of experience in building multiple launch vehicles and leading some of India’s most challenging space missions, his guidance will be invaluable as we gear up for the orbital launch of Vikram-1," Chandana added.

As ISRO chairman from 2022 to 2025, Somanath led major missions like Chandrayaan-3, Aditya-L1 (India’s first solar observatory), the development of the SSLV, and experiments for the Reusable Launch Vehicle landing.

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