The mission would be a technology demonstrator that will mirror Agnikul’s orbital launch – the first commercial launch planned in 2024 – but at a reduced scale.
“We are looking to launch by the end of the year. One test is pending which will be done in our campus itself in IIT-Madras. Once the last set of reviews with ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) is done, we are good to go as the launch vehicle is already at the launch pad,” chief executive Srinath Ravichandran told ET. “This isn’t a sounding rocket and is a complex machine, so we want to get it right in the first attempt.”
If successful, the startup incubated on the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras campus, will become India’s second private company to make a small satellite launch vehicle. The first one was Skyroot Aersospace, which launched the Vikram S in November 2022.
There is a key difference between Agnikul’s rocket named Agnibaan and the Vikram S, said Ravichandran. While Vikram S was a sounding rocket launched from guide rails, Agnibaan would lift off vertically and follow a predetermined trajectory while performing a precisely orchestrated set of manoeuvres during flight.
Sounding rockets are one- or two-stage solid propellant rockets used for probing the upper atmospheric regions and for space research. Agnibaan SOrTeD (SubOrbital Technological Demonstrator) is a highly customisable, single-stage launch vehicle capable of taking up to 300 kg payload to orbits around 700 km high (low Earth orbits) and enables plug-and-play configuration. This means, it can be expanded or shrunk depending on the satellite that’s taken to space.
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Also read | Space-tech startup Agnikul Cosmos raises over $26 million from Celesta Capital, Rocketship“The big difference comes in the propellant system we are using and the way we resize our vehicle. What is good about Agnikul’s offering is we will deliver customisable launch vehicles, which means we configure the vehicle for a particular payload size or satellite size.
It’s not a one-size-fits-all configuration. Most of the launch vehicles are fixed capacity launch vehicles,” Ravichandran explained. Liquid propellants can be reused and are safer over solid propellants, he added.
Agnikul’s patented Agnilet engine is the world’s first single-piece 3D-printed engine. It was fully designed and manufactured in India and was successfully test-fired in early 2021. Also, this is a major milestone for 3D printing technology in India, which is typically used for printing medical implants like hip implants, etc.
The integration process of the launch vehicle, with the company’s private launchpad located at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, was done on August 15.
Also read | Agnikul Cosmos starts its first launchpad & mission control center at Sriharikota
The company’s customers will be anyone who is building a small satellite and wants to go to a low Earth orbit. The payload will mostly consist of communication and imaging satellites.
Agnikul’s 3D printing Rocket Factory houses a 400mm x 400mm x 400mm metal 3D printer from EOS, and a host of other machines that will enable end-to-end manufacturing of a rocket engine under one roof.