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.

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”.

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.