In 2012, a 19-year-old aeronautical engineering student from Coimbatore presented propulsion research at a NASA event. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam noticed, sought him out for a meeting, and handed him a recommendation letter with one challenge: prove your concept.
That student was Rohan M. Ganapathy. Three years later, he and family friend Yashas Karanam co-founded Bellatrix Aerospace from IISc's incubation lab in Bengaluru. The problem they chose to solve touches every satellite in orbit.
Nearly all satellites run on hydrazine, a propellant that has been standard since the 1960s. It is deeply toxic, carcinogenic, and so hazardous that it requires specialized crews and loading facilities near the launch site. India imports all of it. Nobody was building an alternative.
Bellatrix built two. Rudra is India's first high-performance green propulsion system, delivering hydrazine-equivalent thrust while cutting handling costs by over 60%.
Jal is a microwave plasma thruster that uses water as propellant, which Bellatrix claims is the world's first such system built by a private company. Both have been tested in orbit: Rudra fired on ISRO's POEM-3 in January 2024, and again on POEM-4 in January 2025.
Their third product, Pushpak, is an orbital transfer vehicle the company says can bring satellite deployment costs from $45,000 to $25,000 per kilogram. In October 2024, Bellatrix signed an MoU with ISRO's commercial arm, NewSpace India Limited, to integrate Pushpak into its launch missions. The company has raised $31 million to date, backed by BASF Venture Capital, Inflexor Ventures, and Cactus Partners.
For India, a domestic green propulsion stack means less dependence on imported hydrazine, lower costs for Indian satellite startups, and export-ready technology in a global market actively moving away from toxic fuels.
Kalam asked Rohan to prove his concept. More than a decade later, the proof has been fired in orbit.
@rohanooty@BellatrixAero@YashasKaranam
@thekaipullai The coterie actively protects its position.They make sure no one can directly access the person in power without going through them. That way, they stay relevant and continue to benefit from the proximity.
It’s all about incentives.
@thekaipullai I’ve actually seen this up close through a family member, and two clear patterns stood out to me.
The moment someone gets power,they start getting surrounded by people who constantly say “YES” to everything.This creates a comfort zone where dissent or honest feedback disappears.
IT TAKES A LOT TO BE REVATHI…!!!
While the whole country is celebrating the landmark judgement of death penalty for the NINE policemen in the Santhanakulam custodial torture and murder of Jeyaraj and Bennix, you should know about Revathi.
Revathi was a constable in Santhanakulam police station in 2020 when the gruesome incident took place. She was the key witness and the sole reason for all the arrogant officers getting punished today.
The police men involved in the brutality were all big men, Revathi was a small time constable. But she stood unperturbed.
When Magistrate Bharathidasan, who initially investigated this case, arrived at the Santhanakulam police station he had no clue that constable Revathi will help close the case.
"Sir, I will tell you everything, every detail, the truth that is being hidden. But I am the mother of two young girls... can you guarantee the safety of my children and my job?", she had asked the magistrate.
Revathi was on night duty when the cruel incident took place. She witnessed the brutality being inflicted on Jeyaraj and Bennix and narrated every single detail.
She told how SI Balakrishnan, inspector Sridhar and SI Ragukanes, kept beating the father and son with whatever they found, and how they also stomped on their private parts with their shoes.
She remembered their screams. She saw how the officers took pause only to sip alcohol while the victims withered in pain.
When the father and son were semi-conscious, unable to bear it, Revathi asked Jayaraj if he needed anything. She gave him coffee which the officials spilt it immediately.
Revathi couldn’t stand the brutality but being a woman constable there was only so much she could do. She then offered water to the victims.
The so called policemen then stripped Bennix naked, tied his hands and legs separately, and beat him up. They did the same to Jeyaraj. Revathi couldn’t bear the pain of their screams, she left the place.
According to the postmortem report, their entire back was skinned, iron rods were inserted and they bled from their rectums.
When the case was being discussed by the media, when even the CM of Tamil Nadu tried to brush it away, Revathi knew the truth.
The police officials, cleaned up the station of any DNA evidences, erased the CCTV footage and warned everyone to shut-up and not try to become heroes.
But Revathi didn’t just narrate the entire ordeal in exact detail…she even helped the investigating officials obtain other crucial information.
Despite everything being cleaned, Revathi gathered DNA of the victims in crevices of the walls and floors, on furniture and other objects.
She was questioned, threatened, intimidated, bribed and even abused. She stood by justice. She had to go against her colleagues for justice of comman man.
In the time when police force is often looked upon with reasonable suspicion, there are people in uniform like Revathi.
Today court could pronounce death sentence to nine police officers - only because one woman decided she will stand by truth!
Kudos to Revathi, an amazing woman and an absolutely fabulous police officer.
The world is a better place because of her courage.
Salute ma’am 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
The moment you're put on a performance improvement plan, most people panic. Try not to do that, and instead, send this email:
Subject : PIP Acknowledgment and Request for Clarification
Thank you for meeting with me today regarding the performance improvement plan. To ensure that I fully understand the expectations, I’m requesting written clarification on the following information:
1. Specific, measurable metrics for success during this period.
2. A timeline and the frequency of feedback meetings.
3. The resources or support that will be provided to help me succeed.
4. Confirmation that these expectations align with my official job description, dated (insert date).
I’m committed to meeting these goals, and I want to ensure we have a clear, documented understanding.
Please provide this information in writing within 48 hours so I can begin immediately.
Thank you.
Look at these old hands carefully,
Zoom in, who do you remember? Your father or grandfather..?
Do you remember what they were doing at Modi's age...???
Most people's answer would be, "rest". Or, otherwise, they may be busy making a living for their families.
Senior citizens usually retire after 60 years.
But this man is tirelessly working 24×7 to rebuild a nation looted and plundered for over 1000 years i.e "India".
That too without any desire for reward or appreciation.
How many of us will be able to lead such a life..???
So, look carefully at wrinkles of these hands.
See what patience is.
See what penance is.
See what perseverance is.
This picture speaks for itself.
An extraordinary man who has breathed every ounce of air dreaming to restore lost glory and prosperity of India.
Let's praise and appreciate this person's efforts and achievements.
Leaving politics aside, let's stand firm with this pure heart, clear mind and a noble soul without prejudice.
Jai Hind 🇮🇳
He is Medical representative of company.
Medical representative life is not so easy.
They are well educated people and very hard working earning bread for their families.
Give them the utmost respect.
Love you people.. ❣ stay blessed 👍
Jim Carrey once said
"Solitude is dangerous. It’s very addictive. It becomes a habit after you realise how peaceful and calm it is. It’s like you don’t want to deal with people anymore because they drain your energy.”
9 Things TO learn from
JIM CARREY - THE PHILOSOPHER
The principle of FOSSS:
The fear of saying something stupid (FOSSS) prevents people from sharing some of their best ideas. Meanwhile, the stupid don’t have this problem — which is why the world is filled with more stupid ideas than useful ones.
Do you agree? Do you face this dilemma?
#CreativeConsciousness
Nani Gopal, a revolutionary in Bengal in the 1902s had to flee Calcutta to avoid the British police and came to the US, where he took a job as a salesman & married an American schoolteacher
His son, young Amar supplemented his family income by repairing radios.