Tamil Nadu will witness history when one of its space start-ups launches its first rocket on March 22. The Chennai headquartered space start-up Agnikul Cosmos Private Limited will be launching its first rocket Agnibaan Sub Orbital Technology Demonstrator (SOrTeD) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota.
There are several interesting facts about this particular launch - Agnibaan SOrTeD - will be India’s first launch from a private launchpad, India’s first semi-cryogenic engine powered rocket launch and the world’s first single piece 3D printed engine designed and built indigenously.
Founded in 2017 by Srinath Ravichandran, Moin SPM, and Satya Chakravarthy, Agnikul Cosmos became the first company in the country to sign an agreement with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) under the IN-SPACe initiative to have access to the space agency’s expertise and its facilities to build Agnibaan in December 2020.
