Nagpur: As Vikram-1, the country’s first privately developed orbital rocket built by Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace, soars into space, the success story has a strong Nagpur connect. The rocket propellants were manufactured by Solar Industries India Ltd (SIIL), a private sector company that makes military and commercial grade explosives and diversified into the space sector. Solar is also among the early investors in Skyroot Aerospace and worked closely with Skyroot for development of Vikram-1, with a series of static trials conducted at the company’s facility near Nagpur.Solar Group supplies advanced stage solid fuel to Skyroot and heat-mounted safety actuator (HMSA), which prevents accidental firing of the rocket or deviation by creating a barrier before the main fuel source, said a source.In a static test, the rocket is tied to a test bed to prevent an erroneous take-off. Also, the thrust created and other parameters can be measured by the static test, which precedes actual flight trials.Commenting on the mission, the company’s managing director and CEO Manish Nuwal said, “Watching Vikram-1 lift off and successfully achieve its intended trajectory is an incredibly proud and emotional moment for us. As early investors, we placed our trust in the vision of Skyroot co-founders Pawan Kumar Chandana and Nagar Bharath Daka. Our decision to invest in Skyroot was to contribute in building a strong indigenous space ecosystem with long-term strategic significance for India.”“As supply chain partners, seeing our specialised propellant achieving its desired parameters under extreme stress of an orbital launch validates the team’s manufacturing capacity. The Solar Group is enhancing its capacities in expanding to meet requirements of the Indian space sector,” said a company statement.Solar group has also supplied propulsion systems for BrahMos missiles and recently it delivered the first indigenously developed warhead for the missile.