September 18, 2026: Hathor Rockets, a dedicated propulsion company building liquid rocket engines for launch vehicles, in-space mobility platforms, and strategic applications, was featured on NDTV as part of the inaugural season of Vande Bharatam, an initiative led by Adani Group.
Hathor was selected among the Top 54 startups from over 26,000 applications nationwide and was the only space technology startup selected in the cohort.
As part of the recognition, Hathor received the Vande Bharatam Wings and mentorship from Adani Group and Pawan Chandana, Co-founder and CEO of Skyroot Aerospace.
Featured on NDTV
The episode explored Hathor's approach to building liquid rocket engines and the role of dedicated propulsion suppliers in helping space companies reduce the time and resources required to develop propulsion systems in-house.
During the conversation, Pawan Chandana spoke about the opportunity for specialized engine suppliers and how companies like Hathor could complement space companies developing their own vehicles and platforms.
“You are in a very, very unique situation… across the globe, many countries have rocket technology, but they can’t export engines. And its a great opportunity because Indian government wants to build a lot of export market and export technologies.....” Pawan Chandana, Co-founder & CEO, Skyroot Aerospace
The discussion also touched on the complexity of developing a complete propulsion stack and the potential for dedicated engine suppliers to help customers avoid building every component in-house.
Pawan also highlighted the potential value of this model from a customer's perspective:
“You want to focus on building engines… and I think that could be complementary to companies like us.", "I know how difficult it is to actually build the entire propulsion stack.......if somebody builds it, we would love to depend on it, because it saves money and time", "I think you can enable more companies to get to space.”
The conversation reflected the broader role Hathor aims to play in the space ecosystem: providing ready-to-integrate propulsion systems so that customers can focus on developing their vehicles, platforms, and missions.
Watch the full conversation on NDTV or YouTube.
About Us
Hathor Rockets (also referred as “Hathor”) is a Chennai-based spacetech startup building semi-cryogenic and cryogenic rocket engines for small-and medium-lift launch vehicle companies, in-space mobility platforms, and strategic applications. By providing ready-to-integrate propulsion systems, Hathor enables customers to focus on building their vehicles, platforms, and missions without having to develop the entire propulsion stack in-house. Hathor is building toward becoming a specialized engine supplier for the global space industry.
