HYDERABAD, July 17 — The Indian private space sector, for all the noise about its potential, has a particular habit of producing engineers who cut their teeth at the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation before striking out on their own. Naga Bharath Daka, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Skyroot Aerospace, fits the pattern notably well. Daka was born in 1991 in Andhra Pradesh, a southern state with a long history of supplying talent to India’s space programme.
He earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in 2013, a credential that typically opens doors to the country’s elite technical establishments. It would seem he took that route deliberately; from 2013 to 2018, he worked at ISRO, specialising in propulsion systems for the PSLV and GSLV rockets — the workhorses of India’s orbital ambitions.
From ISRO to Startup
The salient point about Daka’s career is not merely that he left a secure government job, but that he did so to co-found Skyroot Aerospace in 2018 alongside Pawan Kumar Chandana. The timing was propitious: India’s space sector was just beginning to open to private players, and Skyroot positioned itself as the country’s first private launch-vehicle developer. Daka brought to the venture the kind of propulsion expertise that is hard to replicate outside a national space agency.
At Skyroot, Daka led the development of the Kalam-100 upper stage, named after former Indian president and missile scientist A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
He also oversaw the propulsion systems for the Vikram-1 rocket, the company’s flagship launch vehicle. These are not minor technical achievements; the work places Daka at the sharp end of India’s push to commercialise space access.
Recognition and Trajectory
In 2022, Forbes India named Daka to its 30 Under 30 list, a recognition that tends to track entrepreneurs in high-growth sectors. For Daka, the honour reflected both his technical background and his role in building a company that has since attracted significant investment and government contracts. What comes next for Skyroot is the operational debut of the Vikram-1 rocket.
The company has conducted successful test firings of the Kalam-100 stage and is working toward a first orbital launch. Daka, as COO, will be the man responsible for turning engineering milestones into a sustainable business.
For all the noise about India’s space startups, the salient point remains that none have yet reached orbit. Daka and his team aim to change that.
