Axiom Space, a leading U.S.-based space infrastructure company, has announced a partnership with Skyroot Aerospace, an Indian private space launch provider, to boost access to low-Earth orbit (LEO). The collaboration aims to leverage the strengths of both companies to provide integrated launch and orbital solutions, catering to the rapidly growing space ecosystem in India and the global market.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Axiom Space and Skyroot Aerospace signifies a growing cooperation between Axiom Space and the Indian space sector. Axiom Space, which successfully launched its Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) on June 25, carrying Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station (ISS), views this partnership as a strategic move to diversify its global supply chain. The Ax-4 mission marks India's return to human spaceflight after more than 41 years and the nation's first mission on board the ISS.
Skyroot Aerospace, the first private company in South Asia to successfully send a rocket to space with its Vikram-S sub-orbital launch vehicle in November 2022, is preparing to launch its maiden orbital-class launch vehicle, Vikram-1. The company's mission is to make access to space affordable, reliable, and on-demand. As the first private space-tech company to partner with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Skyroot is working on solutions to reduce the cost of accessing space.
Under the agreement, Axiom Space will explore utilizing Skyroot's capabilities for sending research payloads, orbital data center nodes, and other future missions to its under-construction Axiom Station as well as independently to LEO. The two companies will collaborate to cater to not just the Indian market but also international markets.
According to Axiom Space CEO Tejpaul Bhatia, this partnership will help expand the company's engineering capabilities as it begins to build a private space station. He stated that Axiom is choosing the "best of breed partners for all of our needs" as the market and its capabilities grow. Bhatia also expressed that he knew the two companies "had to work together to define humanity's future in space" since he visited Skyroot's facility two years ago.
Skyroot Aerospace co-founder and CEO Pawan Kumar Chandana emphasized that enabling greater and equitable access to space for research institutes, startups, and national agencies is the guiding principle at Skyroot. He added that the partnership with Axiom Space builds an opportunity to explore integrated launch and orbital solutions that will shape humanity's future in space as they begin realizing their vision with the upcoming maiden launch of Vikram-1.
The partnership aligns with India's push to expand private activity in space following its 2023 policy reforms. It also provides Indian researchers with a future path to Axiom's station once the ISS retires. For Axiom, partnering with an agile launch provider in Asia supports a diverse global supply chain and helps fill its planned orbital laboratory with steady traffic.
The collaboration between Axiom Space and Skyroot Aerospace is expected to catalyze technology transfer, stimulate the local supply chain, and open new commercial opportunities within the emerging space economy, reinforcing the growing cooperation between Axiom Space and the Indian space sector.
