Rocket startup Skyroot gets funding

INDIAN rocket startup Skyroot Aerospace said on Friday (2) it had raised $51m in a funding round led by Singapore sovereign investor GIC, which it plans to use to begin commercial satellite launches by the middle of next year.

The funding follows the Indian government's push to get the country's private sector to complement its state-run space programme known for its affordable launches and missions. India's unmanned Mars mission in 2014 cost only $74m, less than the budget of the Hollywood space movie ‘Gravity'.

Still, India accounts for only about 2 percent of the $360bn global space economy.

Skyroot says it is making India's first privately developed space launch vehicles built with an all-carbon fibre structure that can launch up to 800 kg (1,760 pounds) of payloads to low-Earth orbit. It already has an agreement with the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for sharing facilities and expertise.