Bellatrix Aerospace Lab founders Rohan M Ganapathy and Yashas Karanam

BANGALORE: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman Dr K Sivan on Wednesday inaugurated the spacecraft research at Bellatrix Aerospace, the start-up company inside IISc here.

This privately funded propulsion lab has in-house facilities for development and testing of electric and green chemical propulsion technologies.

Bellatrix Aerospace, is an Indian private aerospace manufacturer and small satellite company, headquartered in Bangalore.

The company was established in 2015 and it plans to launch its own rocket named Chetak in 2023.

The two-stage Chetak rocket is powered by a number of their own Aeon engines and will use liquid methane as fuel.

In 2019, the company announced plans to use water as propellant for an electric propulsion system.

On 8 February 2021, it had also announced its tie-up with Skyroot Aerospace.

Dr Sivan appreciated the young team for establishing the state-of-the art facility which houses equipment including integrated thermal high vacuum test facilities and catalytic reactors.

He also witnessed the firing of Hall Thruster at the facility.