SPECIAL VISIT
Rocket Pioneer Traces Family Roots In Landmark Mundra-Khavda Visit
Jaydeep Shah
From his father’s workplace in Kutch to leading India’s private space revolution, Skyroot Aerospace Co-founder Pawan Kumar Chandana proves that grounded precision powers cosmic ambitions.
When rocket pioneer Pawan Kumar Chandana toured the sprawling industrial corridors of Mundra and Khavda this August, the visit marked a high-velocity journey coming full circle.
Long before he spearheaded Skyroot Aerospace and disrupted India’s space ecosystem with private launch vehicles, Mundra was part of Mr Chandana's household dinner-table conversations. His father was an employee with the Adani Group at Mundra, laying down early roots in the very coastal belt that has transformed into India’s largest commercial port and manufacturing hub.
Returning not just as a visitor, but as the celebrated engineer behind India’s first privately built rockets, Mr Chandana walked the grounds where his family's story took shape—bridging the gap between generational grit and orbital ambition.
As the driving force behind Vikram-S and Vikram-1—India’s first privately developed rockets—Pawan Kumar Chandana has redefined the country's space narrative. Skyroot Aerospace proved that homegrown entrepreneurs can design, build, and launch launch vehicles, opening the door for India to compete in the global commercial space market and inspiring a new generation of scientists and engineers.
Accompanied by Adani Ports Executive Director Rakshit Shah, Mr Chandana inspected the vast industrial infrastructure spanning Mundra Port and the renewable energy nerve centre at Khavda. For a rocket engineer used to orbits and payloads, the scale of Adani's infrastructure offered an immediate engineering parallel. Whether launching satellites into space or building megaprojects on the ground, the playbook remains identical, demanding ruthless precision, bold scale and long-term vision.
The high point of the visit was Mr Chandana’s visit to the Adani Public School. Engaging with a packed hall of inquisitive students, he stood as relatable proof of what homegrown STEM talent can achieve.