Skyroot CEO Pawan Chandana recalls scoring 51 in Maths, thanks father for never giving up on him: 'He is the man who...'

In a post on X, Chandana reflected on his academic struggles as a child and credited his father for believing in him long before he believed in himself.

Days after Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-1 became the first privately developed Indian rocket to successfully reach orbit, the company's co-founder and CEO, Pawan Kumar Chandana, shared an emotional note dedicated to his father.

Chandana described the emotional phone call he made to his father moments after the mission’s success. (X/@PawanKChandana)

In a post on X, Chandana reflected on his academic struggles as a child and credited his father for believing in him long before he believed in himself. "As everything slowly begins to sink-in, and after finally getting some sleep last night, I wanted to share a small personal note," he wrote.

"The first call I made after Vikram-1 successfully reached orbit was to my Dad. He is the man who made my journey possible-with dreams for me far bigger than the ones I had for myself, and by simply never giving up on me," he added.

Recalling his school days, Chandana revealed that he was far from a top-performing student. He shared that he once scored 51 marks in Maths and even failed another subject. "Until my 8th standard, I was a bad student," he said.

"Back then, I could never have imagined that I would one day make it to an IIT-or have the privilege of contributing to India's first privately developed rocket reaching orbit, making India only the third country in the world to achieve this," he added.

Chandana also described the emotional phone call he made to his father moments after the mission's success.

"When I called him after the launch, he just cried. And cried. He couldn't speak a single word. But I understood every word he couldn't say," he wrote, adding, "I managed to hold back my tears when Vikram-1 reached orbit. But somehow, writing this, I can't."

He concluded the post by thanking his father and paying tribute to parents who continue believing in their children through difficult phases. "Thank you, Dad. And a big shout-out to every dad who dreams big for their children-and never gives up on them," he said.

Skyroot's Vikram-1 makes history

Chandana's post comes days after Skyroot Aerospace achieved a major milestone for India's private space sector.

The Hyderabad-based startup's Vikram-1 launch vehicle lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 12.05 pm as part of Mission Aagaman. Around 15 minutes later, the rocket successfully placed its payloads into a 450-km orbit.

With the mission, Vikram-1 became India's first privately developed rocket to reach orbit. The achievement also made India the third country in the world to demonstrate orbital launch capability through private enterprise.