Indian rocket startup Skyroot Aerospace said on Friday it had raised $51 million in a funding round led by Singapore sovereign investor GIC, which it plans to use to begin commercial satellite launches by the middle of next year.
The funding follows the Indian government’s push to get the country’s private sector to complement its state-run space programme known for its affordable launches and missions. India’s unmanned Mars mission in 2014 cost only $74 million, less than the budget of the Hollywood space movie “Gravity”.
