Indian firm Skyroot Aerospace shot to fame by launching India’s first privately built rocket, Vikram-S. After the successful upper atmospheric rocket launch mission in November 2022 helped them prove their fundamental technology, the firm promised to launch a more advanced rocket, Vikram-1, that would orbit satellites in space.
The maiden spacefaring rocket launch is planned for the first quarter of the year 2024. Skyroot has also signed a pact to launch French Satellites Promethee Earth Intelligence and ConnectSAT.
French Satellites Involved
Skyroot elaborated their fact with Promethee Earth Intelligence to provide satellite launch services aboard their Vikram rockets for their JAPETUS earth observation constellation. With Expleo and ConnectSAT, they signed a tripartite agreement wherein Expleo will provide Reconfigurable Software for the ConnectSAT IoT Satellite set to launch on Vikram-1 Rocket, building the futuristic OSIRIS satellite constellation.
The MoUs
These MoUs (Memorandum of Understandings) were signed at the Skyroot Facility in Hyderabad as part of the visit of a French business delegation. As a result of these pacts, the French Firms will be able to use pay and launch services offered by Skyroot’s Vikram series of rockets. The commercial terms and specifics of the pacts are to be worked out between the firms. The pact to launch the French Satellites does not cover a single mission, Instead, it could happen on multiple launches, the firm said.
The MoU between Promethee and Skyroot was signed by Oliver Piepsz, the co-founder and the CEO of Promethee and the co-founders of Skyroot Aerospace, Pawan Chandana And Bharath Daka. This follows the exploratory understanding made between the two companies in the capital city of France, Paris, in July 2023.
The trilateral agreement between Expleo, ConnectSAT and Skyroot was signed between Abdullah Ben Moussa Dia, the CEO of Connect SAT and Frederique Rebout, the director of Alliance and Partners, the Skyroot co-founders.
Indo-French Space Cooperation
Oliver Piepsz, the CEO of Promethee, expressed, “The strategic relationship between India and France, coupled with the Indian government’s inclusion of the private sector in its remarkable space endeavours, presents extraordinary opportunities for both of our companies. He highlighted that 50 per cent of Promethee Satellites require specific orbital requirements, making Skyroot’s Vikram launch vehicles an ideal choice for deploying a portion of their satellite constellation.
“If we cultivate the New Space Ecosystems together in a mutually beneficial collaborative mode, then we will emerge stronger in France, stronger in India and more competitive in global markets,” Piepsz said
Gaining customers is a major milestone for an emerging rocket firm, as the firm is primarily dependent on customers who wish to avail their rockets as a ride to space. The revenue earned because of such commercial launches could also propel the company to further expand its launch activities. Notably, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) commercial arm has earned millions in foreign revenue by launching nearly 430 satellites from both Indian as well as international customers.
Unlike the Vikram-S, Skyroot’s Vikram-1 will feature liquid propulsion technology, which is more efficient and advanced, thereby making it tough to master. Skyroot’s Vikram series of launchers and rockets use advanced manufacturing technologies and processes, including 3D printing, carbon composite bodies and modular framework that can suit multiple launch requirements and various other orbital deployments.
