Part-by-part flaw maps for carbon-carbon nozzles and brake discs, made in India
TL;DR Voidscan is an inspection lab for carbon-carbon parts such as rocket nozzles, heat shields and aircraft brake discs. It scans each part with air-coupled ultrasound, adds CT where needed, and gives the maker a flaw and density map before the part ships. Makers pay per part or per batch.
Carbon-carbon parts take weeks of furnace cycles to make, and the defects hide inside them. Published tests on commercial C/C brake discs found delaminations, cracks, porosity and disbonds, with defect areas dropping ultrasonic signal by about 18 dB[1]. Density is uneven too - in chemical vapour infiltration, the inner and outer edges of a disc densify better than the middle[2].
India makes these parts in only a few places. DRDO's DRDL documented its own C/C brake disc process and testing[3], and private rockets are now flying, with the first private Indian rocket reaching orbit in July 2026[4]. Each new nozzle or brake supplier needs a way to prove its parts are sound, and my assumption (one to test) is that an in-house inspection line is too costly for a small maker.
What it does, in regulatory terms: non-destructive testing services. Voidscan does not certify airworthiness or flight readiness. The buyer's quality team and its customer make that call.
The seed proposed fixing C/C defects by making the parts in microgravity. I reframed it. These defects come from the impregnation and furnace process, there's no published evidence that gravity causes them, and running furnaces in orbit would cost far more than the parts. Finding flaws on the ground, part by part, is the cheaper fix.
Each part is scanned with non-contact ultrasound, which works on C/C without water or gel[1][5]. Software builds a map of signal loss and velocity, which tracks density[2]. Suspect zones go to CT. A model trained on confirmed cut-ups ranks each flaw, and the maker gets a report it can hand to its own customer, plus trend charts showing which furnace runs produce the most rejects.
The payer is the maker of C/C or ceramic-composite parts. That's private rocket companies, their nozzle suppliers, and brake disc makers for aircraft. Public labs may buy overflow capacity. There's no public price list for C/C inspection in India, so ₹15,000–60,000 per part, depending on size and CT time, is my assumption to test.
The 2023 space policy lets private firms build launch vehicles end to end[6], and the first private orbital rocket has flown[4]. That creates new nozzle buyers outside ISRO, and they'll need independent proof of quality, not a lab's word for its own parts.
There's no public figure for C/C inspection spending in India. The narrow anchor is that private launch firms are moving to repeat flights, with Vikram-1U due in early 2027[4], and each flight needs nozzle and thermal-protection parts. Count makers and parts per year bottom-up before you raise money.
DRDO's labs test their own C/C parts in-house[3]. University groups in the US have published air-coupled ultrasound methods for C/C brakes[1][5] but sell no service. Large CT service bureaus operate abroad, though I couldn't verify any in India for this material. I found no independent Indian lab focused on C/C and ceramic composites.
| Difficulty | Hard (57/100) |
| Starting capital | ₹1.2–2.4 Cr |
| Time to launch | 9–12 months |
The physics is known. The hard bit is building a defect library with confirmed cut-ups, earning accreditation that aerospace buyers trust, and winning parts from a small number of makers who may prefer to keep inspection in-house. Expect each buyer to audit you before sending a single flight part.
Inspecting parts needs no space authorisation, but radiation equipment and aerospace buyers bring rules.
Building this outside India? The categories above usually have a local equivalent, so check with your own regulator.
Never let AI pass a flight part on its own. A missed flaw in a nozzle is a failure in flight, so a qualified inspector signs every report.
Want to work out the AI layer for Voidscan? Talk to Yash →
Honestly, this is a lab business with a tiny customer list, and I'd go in with eyes open. It suits a founder with NDT or composites experience and contacts in Indian space and defence suppliers. If you're hoping for software margins then skip it. Prove first that two makers will send real parts and that your maps match their own cut-up results.
Plan for about ₹1.2–2.4 Cr for ultrasound equipment, CT access, a defect library and accreditation.
You need AERB approval if you run your own X-ray CT, and buyers will expect ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation. No space authorisation is needed to inspect parts.
It's unproven, because India has only a handful of carbon-carbon makers. Prove that two of them will send real parts before you buy equipment.
The free Voidscan validation kit has the line-by-line capital breakdown, the effort scoring, the radiation and accreditation checklist, a 14-day validation sprint with pass/fail targets, a 90-day launch plan, 10 interview questions for part makers, and 5 assumptions to test. Download the kit →
Thinking about building Voidscan or something close to it? The make-or-break work is getting makers to trust an outside lab with flight parts, and I can help you plan that and the money you'll need. If you need a hand, you know where to find me. Talk to Yash →
For illustration only. Names are fictional and ideas hypothetical; sourced facts are real but may be out of date. Nothing here is legal, financial or professional advice, and Yash Khatri is not personally liable for any use of it. Read the full disclaimer.