Source : Mint
Following the successful sub-orbital test flight of the Agnibaan rocket, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday congratulated the Chennai-based space start-up Agnikul Cosmos, saying it is a momentous occasion for India’s space sector.
The prime minister also deemed Agnibaan’s successful test flight “a remarkable feat” that will “make the nation proud”.
PM Modi posted pictures of the launch of the Agnibaan rocket on social networking site X (formerly twitter) and wrote: “A remarkable feat which will make the entire nation proud! The successful launch of the Agnibaan rocket powered by the world’s first single-piece 3D printed semi-cryogenic engine is a momentous occasion for India’s space sector and a testament to the remarkable ingenuity of our Yuva Shakti.”
“My best wishes to the Agnikul Cosmos team for their future endeavours,” he added.
A remarkable feat which will make the entire nation proud!
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 30, 2024
The successful launch of Agnibaan rocket powered by world’s first single-piece 3D printed semi-cryogenic engine is a momentous occasion for India’s space sector and a testament to the remarkable ingenuity of our Yuva… https://t.co/iJFyy0dRqq pic.twitter.com/LlUAErHkO9
Sub-orbital test flight of Agnibaan rocket
The successful suborbital test flight of Agnikul Cosmos’ home-built 3D-printed semi-cryogenic rocket, Agnibaan, from its own launch pad at Sriharikota makes it India’s second private entity to do so.
Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace was the first private Indian entity to launch its sub-orbital rocket Vikram-S in November 2022.
After four unsuccessful attempts, the test flight of Agnibaan Sub-Orbital Technology Demonstrator (SOrTeD) took place at 7.15 am without any live streaming and in the presence of fewer dignitaries at the Sriharikota launch pad located within ISRO’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre.
Due to technical difficulties, the earlier attempts on March 22, April 6, April 7, and May 28 had to be called off.
Agnibaan rocket and Agnilet engine
According to the company, Agnibaan is a customisable, two-stage launch vehicle that can carry a payload of up to 300 kg into an orbit of about 700 km.
The rocket uses a semi-cryogenic engine with a mix of liquid and gas propellants, a technology that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has yet to demonstrate in its rockets.
Agnikul is looking at flying an orbital mission towards the end of the financial year 2025.
The SOrTeD mission is a single-stage launch vehicle demonstration powered by a semi-cryogenic engine, the Agnilet, a sub-cooled liquid oxygen-based propulsion system developed indigenously.
The start-up has created the vehicle with India’s first-ever ethernet-based avionics architecture and fully in-house-developed autopilot software.
The vehicle is powered by sub-cooled Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), with four carbon composite fins to provide passive control.
The Agnilet engine is the world’s first single-piece 3D-printed semi-cryogenic rocket engine.
(With PTI inputs)
