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Space startup Agnikul Cosmos made history by launching their Agnibaan rocket.




India made history in the space sector on Thursday with the first launch from a private launchpad of its second privately built rocket. The Chennai-based space startup Agnikul Cosmos launched the Agnibaan SOrTeD, a single-stage technology demonstrator rocket, at 7:15 am from Shriharikota. This rocket, which uses a combination of gas and liquid fuel, features the world's first single-piece 3D printed engine, designed and built indigenously. This launch followed the cancellation of a test flight just seconds before launch on Tuesday, marking the fourth such cancellation in the past three months. The launch is also notable because ISRO has not yet successfully flown a semi-cryogenic engine using a mix of liquid and gas propellants.

A K Bhatt, the director general of the Indian Space Association (ISPA), praised the achievement as a historic milestone, comparing it to India's maiden rocket launch from Thumba in 1963. He highlighted this as a significant boost for India's private space industry and a preview of its promising future. Bhatt also noted that the recent guidelines for implementing the Indian Space Policy 2023 and new FDI regulations will enhance global confidence in India's private space capabilities.

The Agnibaan rocket is a customizable, two-stage launch vehicle capable of carrying up to 300 kg of payload to orbits up to 700 km high, similar to SpaceX's Falcon Heavy, which can carry 63,500 kg to low Earth orbit. In November 2022, Skyroot Aerospace became the first private company to successfully develop and operate a launch vehicle, the Vikram-S, on a sub-orbital flight from SDSC SHAR.

Founded in 2017 by Srinath Ravichandran, Moin SPM, and IIT Madras professor SR Chakravarthy, AgniKul was the first Indian firm to sign an agreement with ISRO in December 2020 under the IN-SPACe initiative. This agreement provided Agnikul access to ISRO's expertise and facilities. Agnikul is one of India's most funded space startups, having raised $42 million to date.




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