Pawan Kumar Chandana: The Indian Space Entrepreneur Taking Private Rockets Global After spending years inside ISRO, Pawan Kumar Chandana helped build Skyroot Aerospace into a private launch company capable of reaching orbit. Vikram-1’s July 2026 success has now turned that ambition into a commercial proposition — and TIME’s recognition of Chandana puts a new face on India’s rapidly expanding space economy. For decades, India’s space story was overwhelmingly associated with one institution: ISRO. That story is changing. On July 18, 2026, a rocket developed by Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace lifted off from Sriharikota and successfully reached Low Earth Orbit. It was not simply another Indian launch. It was the first time a private Indian company successfully conducted an orbital launch from Indian soil. Behind that achievement is Pawan Kumar Chandana, Skyroot’s co-founder and CEO, a former ISRO scientist who moved from designing space systems inside India’s national space programme to building a private company capable of selling launch services to customers around the world. His inclusion in TIME100 Next 2026, a list recognising emerging leaders shaping the future, gives the achievement a wider international context. TIME describes TIME100 Next as a platform for people shaping the future and defining the next
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