Nipun Java

When I first came to India, the space industry was closed to private players. The most well-known "startup" at that time was TeamIndus. Skyroot didn't exist. A year later, in 2018, Skyroot was founded. Private companies in India couldn't launch rockets yet, but Pawan and Bharath forged ahead regardless, optimistic that liberalisation would happen someday. Then, in 2020, it did. Indian companies were finally free to compete with American, Russian, European, and Chinese startups. They could build their own launch vehicles. And satellites. At an undisclosed location in the United States, Elon swallowed hard. I was publishing videos about Indian companies on YouTube at this point. I remember thinking, "Making content about these spacetech developments is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." Now, ~6 years later, Skyroot has gifted India with the biggest white pill of all time. While the world watched, a team of ~1,000+ Indian optimists (with an average age of 28) flawlessly executed an orbital rocket launch. No private space company IN THE WORLD has ever done this on their first try. As I write this, I have goosebumps. I feel incredibly privileged to have been able to witness this firsthand. I also feel inspired by the resilience, ingenuity, and wherewithal of the entire Skyroot team. The next chapter of India's space journey has officially begun.