Skyroot Aerospace co-founder and CEO Pawan Kumar Chandana has been named to TIME’s TIME100 Next 2026 list of emerging global leaders. The honour follows Skyroot’s successful orbital launch of its Vikram-1 rocket in July 2026. Chandana, an IIT Kharagpur graduate and former ISRO scientist, co-founded Skyroot in 2018 with Naga Bharath Daka. Vikram-1, which lifted off from Sriharikota on July 18, became India’s first privately developed orbital rocket and made India the third country after the US and China with private orbital launch capability. The mission, named Aagaman, reached a 450-kilometre orbit about 15 minutes after liftoff. Chandana spent six years at ISRO, working on the GSLV Mk-III and Small Satellite Launch Vehicle programmes, before leaving to build a commercial rocket company. Skyroot, based in Hyderabad, now employs more than 1,000 people and was valued at $1.1 billion in May 2026. The company plans regular commercial flights after further development launches of Vikram-1.