India's 1st Private Launchpad Preps For Liftoff

Preparations are in the final stages by the Chennai-headquartered space-tech startup Agnikul Cosmos for the maiden launch of India's first-ever private launchpad and the second rocket launch by a private sector player.

At the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota -- a place that marked the majority of golden moments in the Indian space sector -- another history is set to be made.

Preparations are in the final stages by the Chennai-headquartered space-tech startup Agnikul Cosmos for the maiden launch of India's first-ever private launchpad and the second rocket launch by a private sector player.

Srinath Ravichandran, co-founder and CEO of Agnikul, told Business Standard that if final steps are cleared, its launch vehicle Agnibaan will take off from Sriharikota during the current financial year itself.

Agnibaan is a two-stage launch vehicle with the capability to carry up to a 100 kg payload to an extent of around 700 km to the lower earth orbit.

Another speciality of the Agnikul launch will be that it will be the world's first single-piece 3-D printed engine, fully designed and manufactured in India.

The vehicle has the capability for a plug-and-play engine configuration that is configurable to match the mission's needs.

"We are in a phase where all the paperwork is completed. Only the last steps are left. Testing has already been completed, most of the works have already moved to Sriharikota," Ravichandran said.

"We are very close to it. The launch is very likely to happen during the current financial year," Ravichandran added.

It was in November 2022 that a private company, Skyroot Aerospace, successfully developed and operated launch vehicle Vikram-S, on a sub-orbital flight from SDSC SHAR, becoming the first player to do so.

"The Skyroot launch proved that it is possible for a private launch in India. We want to build on that and prove that we now have the technological capacity to go to orbit as well," Ravichandran said.

"The name of the vehicle is also a sub-orbital technology demonstrator, because we want to showcase the entire technology required to go to orbit," Ravichandran added.

Unlike Skyroot, Agnikul will not be coming up with a sounding rocket. It will be a controlled vehicle, similar to an orbital class vehicle, where it lifts off vertically and tries to follow a pre-programmed trajectory.

"It will be similar to the PSLV launch -- vertical lift off followed by going over the ocean and then accelerating upward, tilting down, and following a similar profile.

"For us it is all about validating autopilot, and of course launch pad, and the engine," he added.

Founded in 2017 -- by Srinath Ravichandran, Moin SPM, and S R Chakravarthy, a professor from IIT-Madras -- AgniKul became the first Indian firm to sign an agreement with the Indian Space Research Organisation in December 2020.

This pioneering agreement was facilitated under the IN-SPACe initiative, granting Agnikul unprecedented access to ISRO's expertise and cutting-edge facilities.

The company is one of the highest funded space startups in India, raising $42 million so far.

"We will be going for a further fund raise," Ravichandran added, "once the launch is done."

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com