What goes up...

The 'use-and-dispose' philosophy doesn't appeal to Kajal Rajbhar and Hitendra Singh. Passionate about rockets — they have designed, built, and launched hundreds of them in the past four years — they are working on a reusable rocket.

The two were pursuing a Master's in Astrophysics from Charotar University of Science and Technology in Gujarat in 2023 when they decided to drop out and set up SpanTrik instead. They toured space expos, met people working in the space and satellite industries, and explored the gaps they could fill. They realised that reusable rockets were still to make their presence felt in the country. Each time a satellite is launched, the launch vehicle or rocket ferrying it to space becomes an expendable commodity after the mission. The rocket either becomes part of space debris or sinks into an ocean. All the machinery, equipment, and investment that went into building the rocket go to waste after its one-time use.

This was a problem the two were familiar with. In their experiments, each time a rocket failed, it meant losing the motor they had used. Creating a reusable launch vehicle was the solution: it made financial sense and was a sustainable option.

In 2023, SpanTrik was selected for incubation by the Hyderabad-based incubator T-Hub and is currently working out of T-Hub's prototyping facility T-Works. The two entrepreneurs' goal is to develop a three-stage rocket: the first stage would be a VTVL (vertical takeoff vertical landing) system, and stages 2 and 3 would have a non-propulsive landing with an aerobraking system.