Pawan Kumar Chandana is an aerospace scientist, space entrepreneur, and co-founder of Skyroot Aerospace, and he is also considered Elon Musk of India. He was born in Hyderabad, Telangana in 1991 and completed his schooling there. He completed his dual degree in B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering and M.Tech in Thermal Engineering in 2012 from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur. He married Nirupama Tungala on 9 October 2019.
After completing his college in 2012 he started working as a scientist in Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in ISRO for 6 years. He worked on GSLV Mk-III, ISRO’s largest rocket, he also worked as a system engineer for solid stage S200, and booster of GSLV Mk-II rocket. He also worked on SSLV (Small Satellite Launch Vehicle) of ISRO as deputy project manager. He also won two innovation awards in ISRO.
Pawan Kumar Chandana says “I believe rockets are the most fascinating machinery ever built by humans, and are now in need of a new techno-economic makeover, to open up a new frontier in space access and exploration”.
Skyroot Aerospace.
Pawan Kumar Chandana founded Skyroot Aerospace with Naga Bharath Daka. He is the CEO and CTO of Skyroot Aerospace. Skyroot Aerospace designed and developed India’s first orbital class rocket ‘Vikram-1’ which is ready to launch in the first quarter of 2024. Skyroot Aerospace aims to make satellite launch as easy as booking a cab.
Naga Bharath Daka is an alumnus of IIT-Madras and also started work in 2012 at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in ISRO as a flight computer engineer. He builds many firmware and hardware for onboard computer modules that implement the sequencing, navigation, control, and guidance functions of a rocket. Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka became friends, they quit their jobs in ISRO and founded Skyroot Aerospace in 2018.
Read also: Skyroot Aerospace: India’s SpaceX
Awards of Pawan Kumar Chandana
| Award | Issued By |
| Best Innovative Product from 2014-16 | ISRO in 2016 |
| Best innovative idea 2014-16 | ISRO in 2016 |
| Aerospace Engineering Division Prize 2018 | The Institution of Engineers in 2018 |
| Forbes 30 under 30 Asia | Forbes Asia in 2020 |
| National Startup Award | Government of India in 2020 |
| India Today Young Achiever 2022 | India Today in 2022 |
| National Award for Technology Startup | Department of Science and Technology, Government of India in 2022 |
Other than awards he also published many scientific research papers in reputed journals.
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