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The process of launching a rocket has seen multiple advancements over the years. But once launched, these rockets often end up in the oceans, where they are most often than not left. 

In an attempt to change this, Kajal Rajbhar and Hitendra Singh founded SpanTrik—a startup that is developing reusable rocket launch vehicles. The company aims to make space exploration more accessible and affordable to all. 

“We like to call it FedEx to space. So, what we can do is anything you want to send to space, we will be there,” Singh says. 

Founded in 2022, Delhi-based SpanTrik has already made significant strides, securing government grants and attracting attention from private equity investors. The company is currently in discussions to raise $1 million in its first round of funding, which it aims to close by March 2025. 

Spantrik was part of the 2024 Tech30 list of India’s most promising startups compiled by YourStory. 

How it all started? 

SpanTrik began as a dream for Rajbhar. She remembers telling her father when she was in school about who she wanted to be when she grew up. 

“I want to run my very own space company,” she had said. “I have always wanted to make my own rockets or satellites and I had even written this down in my diary growing up.”

To achieve her goal, she joined SRM Chennai, where she studied Bachelor’s in Physics. At the time, she used to run an Instagram page where she discussed new scientific discoveries and inventions. It was through this platform that she met Singh, who was then studying in Ahmedabad. 

Their paths crossed for the first time when Singh visited Delhi, his hometown. However, the very next day, the country went into lockdown due to the pandemic. 

Despite the disruption, Rajbhar and Singh sketched out their vision for SpanTrik. They both enrolled in Charotar University of Science and Technology in Gujarat to pursue their masters in astrophysics and cosmology. 

A few months later, they dropped out of college to focus on their new company, and founded SpanTrik in 2022.  

Product development

During the years leading up to founding the company, both of them gained various experiences—ranging from developing unmanned aerial vehicles to making a UVC rover. While in college, they launched over 100 rockets while learning the mechanics behind rocket development and launch. 

However, it was not easy for them to work in a sector dominated by engineers. But the government’s push for private participation in the space sector since 2019 helped SpanTrik. 

Soon, the company began taking shape. The founders started meeting with private players in the sector, other startups, and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to understand the demand for recyclable rockets. 

Recyclable rockets are not a new concept. Countries like Russia, the US, and Germany have explored this idea for decades. Most recently, under Elon Musk, SpaceX launched a new line of recyclable rockets. 

However, the rockets from these companies have faced major challenges. They were either too expensive to be made or struggled with the second-stage retrieval process, as was the case with SpaceX’s early attempts.

SpanTrik is working to address these issues by developing affordable and recyclable rockets that can be used multiple times. The company is able to do this with the material being used to make these rockets. The startup is making its vehicles with stainless steel. This, when combined with the heat generated by cryogenic propellants (fuel used in rocket launches), the body will become 50% stronger. 

Additionally, SpanTrik is focused on ensuring to maneuver its rockets back to the sea from where they can be retrieved and reused. 

The next step

Currently, the team is building a vertical takeoff vertical landing (VTVL), which will help them understand the reusability of its systems. 

“Before directly moving to the Raven, we wanted to build VTVL just to see everything is going well. Because, what if we put all of our money into the complete rocket and it ends up failing? So, we don’t want to directly jump to that part. Instead of that, we wanted to make a kind of three-meter round VTVL system that would go up and then land back. So, in that way, we can test how our engine is going to perform and how we are going to maneuver the complete rocket system,” Singh tells YourStory.

The company is aiming to complete testing the VTVL between July and September 2025. This would help SpanTrik perfect its first product, Raven, and get it market ready for 2028 or 2029. 

According to market research firm Mordor Intelligence, the reusable launch vehicles market size is estimated at $3.05 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach $5.28 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 11.65% between 2024 and 2029.

SpanTrik is currently incubated at T-Works in Hyderabad. The company has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with IARE university in Hyderabad to set up its testing facility on the campus grounds. 

The startup plans to structure its pricing model based on the weight of the load that customers wish to send to space. 

Currently, the company competes with Chennai-based Agnikul and Hyderabad-based Skyroot, among others in India, according to data website Tracxn.

“Right now, the market range is between $12,500 to $25,000. But you can bring it down to $3,000 per kg. And that is for the non-reusable rockets. But, if you are looking at a recyclable rocket, such as ours, we can bring it to less than $3,000 per kg of cargo,” Singh says. 

According to the co-founders, there has been a noticeable shift in the investment landscape for spacetech startups. Before 2022, there were little to no investments in the sector. However, this changed after the government began rolling out schemes to support the ecosystem. The success of Chandrayaan-3 mission also played a key role in shifting focus to the sector. 

SpanTrik is also attempting to change a societal narrative by proving that one can build a space company even if they did not work at ISRO. 

“We are not from ISRO. Most space startup founders have either worked at ISRO or been involved with the organisation in some capacity. We are the only startup with founders who are not from ISRO, not from IITs. And we are building a key technology. We want to drive home this point that people who are not from these institutions can also build something and we hope they can get the confidence to take that step from us,” Rajbhar says.