He Built A Rocket Company When It Was Illegal In India | Skyroot Founder

India just carved its name into the history of space. In this episode of SparX by Mukesh Bansal, we sit down with Pawan Chandana, Co-founder & CEO of Skyroot Aerospace, just days after the company achieved a historic milestone - becoming the first private Indian company to successfully launch a satellite into orbit on its very first attempt. Chapters 0:00 - Introduction 0:59 – History, Made in India 06:14 – The Cold Message That Started It All 09:34 – The Lowest Point: COVID and the Investors Who Believed 12:38 – Building Rockets Was Illegal? 15:10 – The 20-Something Team launching rockets in space 17:44 – Advice for Deep Tech Founders & India's New Funding Ecosystem 20:01 – Inside Mission Control: Pre-Launch Checks to the 5-Minute Hold 24:53 – Stage-by-Stage: Liftoff Through the 15-Minute Journey to Orbit 29:32 – The Self-Destruct System, and Everything That Could Go Wrong 33:56 – Stage Separations Explained: The Riskiest Moments of the Flight 47:30 – The Failure That Almost Derailed Everything 52:20 – What's Next for Skyroot? 59:15 – Lessons From ISRO's Failures 1:02:20 – Skyroot's Ripple Effect on Startups 1:04:56 – India's Next Deep Tech Bets & Opportunities 1:09:06 – "This Is India's Skyroot Moment" Pawan shares the untold story behind Skyroot's remarkable journey—from a LinkedIn message that led to Mukesh Bansal becoming one of Skyroot's earliest believers, to raising capital during the toughest days of the pandemic, building one of the world's most advanced private rocket programs, and the emotional moments inside mission control during launch. There was no revenue, no roadmap, no guarantee — just conviction that these founders wouldn't quit. That was enough for Mukesh Bansal to back them back in 2018, and today that conviction has made history. The conversation goes deep into entrepreneurship, deep-tech investing, India's emerging innovation ecosystem, and the future of private space exploration. Whether you're a founder, engineer, investor, student, or simply fascinated by rockets and innovation, this episode offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at one of the most important milestones in India's startup history. If you enjoyed this conversation, don't forget to Like, Subscribe, and share the episode with someone passionate about entrepreneurship, science, innovation, or space technology. Tell us in the comments: What do you think will be India's next breakthrough in deep-tech? Keywords Skyroot Aerospace, Pawan Chandana, Mukesh Bansal, Sparks Podcast, Indian Startup, ISRO, Private Space Company India, Rocket Launch, Space Startup, Deep Tech India, Entrepreneurship, Startup Funding, Venture Capital, Space Technology, Satellite Launch, Innovation, SpaceX, Indian Space Industry, Aerospace Engineering, Startup Stories. #Skyroot #PawanChandana #MukeshBansal #SparksPodcast #ISRO #SpaceTech #IndianStartups #DeepTech #Entrepreneurship #Innovation