Following the successful test flight of
Agnibaan SOrTeD, Chennai-based space firm Agnikul Cosmos hopes to begin launching satellites early next year. In an interview with PTI, Agnikul cofounder and CEO Srinath Ravichandran stated that the 3D-printed
semi-cryogenic engines and rocket will provide customers with rapid turnaround times for unique launch vehicles for their satellites.
"Nine to 12 months I would say. Probably by the end of this financial year or the early part of the next financial year is what we are targeting," Ravichandran said when asked about the commercial orbital launch of the Agnibaan rocket.
After four failed attempts, Agnibaan SOrTeD (suborbital technology demonstrator) conducted its first test flight on May 30 for 66 seconds.
"It was a big sense of relief. I think we got a lot of learning in differentiating between building a vehicle and launching a vehicle," said Ravichandran, whose idea to use 3D printing technology to build engines and rockets led to Agnikul Cosmos, a
space sector start-up incubated at the IIT Madras Research Park in 2017.
Two other co-founders were the operations specialist Moin SPM and the head of the National Centre for Combustion Research and Development, Satyanarayanan Chakravarthy, who was also a professor at IIT Madras.
The test flight was significantly aided by the contributions of two female engineers: Saraniya Periaswamy, the Vehicle Director for Agnibaan SOrTeD, and Umamaheswari K, the Project Director of the first Mission.
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