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AgniKul Cosmos

AgniKul Cosmos Private Limited[a] is an Indian private aerospace manufacturer based in National Centre for Combustion Research and Development (NCCRD) of IIT Madras, Chennai.[1][2] The start up aims to develop and launch its own small-lift launch vehicle such as the Agnibaan, capable of placing 100 kg (220 lb) payload into a 700 km (430 mi) orbit. The first commercial launch was expected in 2022. The first suborbital test vehicle was successfully launched on 30 May 2024. This mission achieved several notable milestones including world’s first flight with a single-piece 3D-printed engine, India’s first semi-cryo engine launch and India's first launch from a private launch pad.

AGNIKUL COSMOS
Company typePrivate
IndustryAerospace
Founded2017; 7 years ago (2017)
Founder
  • Srinath Ravichandran
  • Moin SPM
  • Satyanaryan Chakravarthy
  • Janardhana Raju
Headquarters
National Centre for Combustion Research and Development, IIT Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
,
India
Key people
  • Srinath Ravichandran
    (CEO)
  • Moin SPM
    (COO)
Products
Services
RevenueNone
Number of employees
150-200
Websiteagnikul.in Edit this at Wikidata
Mockups of the Agnibaan launch vehicle and its engine at the International Astronautical Congress 2021.

History

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The company was founded by Srinath Ravichandran, Moin SPM, Satyanarayanan Chakravarthy and Janardhana Raju within IIT Madras with a seed funding of ₹3 crore (equivalent to ₹4.2 crore or US$500,000 in 2023) with aim to develop and launch its first rocket in 2021 and subsequently develop ability to provide launch service for satellites weighing up to 100 kg (220 lb).[3][4] The start-up later managed to raise up to ₹23.4 crore (equivalent to ₹28 crore or US$3.3 million in 2023) from investors.[5] Till end of 2020, the company had raised almost $4 million and headed towards the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for advisory.[6] A Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) was signed with Department of Space to obtain government's technological assistance in development of launch vehicles.[7] Although the company entered an agreement with Alaska Aerospace Corporation to launch rocket from Kodiak Launch Complex as a commercial launch pad to test rockets was not available in India, the deal eventually fizzled out as no progress was made with the vehicle.[8] AgniKul has received investment from personal capacity of Anand Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra Group. Although, amount was not specified.[9]

AgniKul signed a framework agreement with the Department of Space in September 2021 for access to ISRO facilities and technical expertise for the development of its two-stage small-satellite Agnibaan launch vehicle.[10] On 7 November 2022, Agnikul Cosmos bought its first Flight Termination System (FTS) from ISRO. It will be used in Agnibaan scheduled for launch from Satish Dhawan Space Centre.[11]

In October 2023, AgniKul raised $26.7 million in a Series B funding round, bringing the total capital raised since its inception to $40 million. Both existing and new investors participated in the round.[12][13]

According to co-founder and CEO Srinath Ravichandran, Agnikul is attempting to perfect the technology of firing several engines simultaneously and conducting experiments for stage separation following the success of the Agnibaan SOrTeD mission. Additionally, the company began constructing rigs, which will take six to seven months. The first orbital launch will occur three months after rigs construction is complete.[14]

Development of engines

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  • In February 2021, Agnikul test fired its semi-cryogenic rocket engine Agnilet which will power second stage of its rocket Agnibaan for the first time. Agnikul claimed the engine has been developed in single-piece through 3D printing with no assembled parts.[15]
  • On 8 November 2022, Agnilet was successfully test fired for a few seconds on Vertical Test Facility, Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS), at Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC) to validate the design and manufacturing methodology used in the development process. AgniKul Cosmos holds the patent for design and manufacturing of single-piece rocket engine. The first dedicated factory to manufacture large number of 3D printed rocket engines is in IIT Madras Research Park.[16]
  • On 7 February 2023, flight acceptance test of Angilet for Agnikul's controlled sub-orbital flight was successfully conducted. The engine was completely manufactured at Agnikul's Rocket Factory - 1. In this particular test, engine was fired over and above the mission burn time as required for flight acceptance.[17]

Launch vehicle

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Main article: Agnibaan
 
A graphical representation of the Agnibaan launch vehicle

Agnibaan (Devanagari: अग्निबाण, ISO: Agnibāṇa) (lit. 'Arrow of Fire') is envisaged to be a mobile launch system capable of placing a 100 kg (220 lb) satellite into a 700 km (430 mi) orbit. The rocket will be 18 meters long with a diameter of 1.3 meters and a lift-off mass of 14,000 kg (31,000 lb). It will use clustered engines on first stage in various configurations depending upon the payload and will only use LOX and Kerosene based engines.[18] A single-stage suborbital demonstrator, nicknamed Agnibaan SOrTeD (Suborbital Tech Demonstrator) was successfully launched on 30 May 2024 as a suborbital test flight.[19][20]

Launch pad and mission control centre

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AgniKul Cosmos inaugurated first private launchpad and mission control centre in India at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh on 28 November 2022. The launchpad and the mission control centre are 4 km apart from one another. At present, the launchpad can handle liquid stage launch vehicle.[21] All the critical systems performing functions at Agnikul launchpad (ALP) and the Agnikul mission control center (AMCC) have high degree of redundancy to ensure 100% operationality although none of these systems were tested so far.[22] ISRO's range operations team will monitor key flight safety parameters during launches from ALP while AMCC can share critical data with ISRO's Mission Control Center.[23] Both the facilities have support of ISRO and Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe).[24]

Launch history

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S.No Date / time (UTC) Rocket,
Configuration 		Launch site Payload Orbit Customer Status Note
1. 30 May 2024 / 07:15 Agnibaan SOrTeD Satish Dhawan ALP   Mass simulator Suborbital — Success Seven seconds after lift-off, auto-pilot was engaged. The rocket began traveling across the ocean, executed the pitch-over maneuver, and then carried out its intended course. The rocket entered wind biasing maneuver at roughly 60 seconds. The rocket then carried on flying until it burned out and fell back into the ocean.[14][19][20]
2. Q3 2024 Agnibaan Satish Dhawan ALP   Low Earth TBA Planned Maiden flight of Agnibaan rocket.
3. Q4 2024 Agnibaan Satish Dhawan ALP   Low Earth TBA Planned

Industry Collaboration

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An agreement has been signed by Nibe Space, a division of Nibe Defence and Aerospace on 9 September 2024, with AgniKul Cosmos, Skyroot Aerospace, Centum Electronics, SpaceFields, Sisir Radar, CYRAN AI Solutions, and Larsen & Toubro for the launch of India's first constellation of multi-sensor, all-weather, high-revisit Earth observation satellites.[25]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ pronounced: ɐɡnikul (Devanagari: अग्निकुल, ISO: Agnikula); According to the founders of the company, 'AgniKul' is the portmanteau of 'Agni' and 'Gurukula', and the name therefore translates to "a place where people learn to use fire"

References

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  1. ^ "Agnikul". agnikul.in. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Agnikul: From IIT-M brainchild to space odyssey". The Times of India. 1 June 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  3. ^ Reddy, Krishna (29 May 2019). "WATCH: IIT Madras-incubated Agnikul is aiming to become the first Indian startup to put small satellites into space".
  4. ^ Upadhyay, Shyam Nandan (18 October 2023). "Agnikul Looks to Make India A Global Space Hub". AIM. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  5. ^ Kashyaap, Sindhu (18 March 2020). "[Funding alert] Spacetech startup Agnikul raises Rs 23.4 Cr in pre-Series A round led by pi Ventures".
  6. ^ Srinivasan, Srinath (26 November 2020). "Into a new orbit: Making space for small satellites". The Financial Times. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Non-Disclosure Agreement signed with M/s Agnikul". ISRO. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  8. ^ Narasimhan, TE (1 October 2020). "Agnikul signs agreement with Alaska Aerospace to test launch its rocket". Business Standard. Chennai. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  9. ^ "Anand Mahindra backs space startup Agnikul Cosmos". The Economic Times. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  10. ^ "ISRO signs agreement with Agnikul Cosmos allowing it access to facilities, expertise to build launch vehicles". Firstpost. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  11. ^ "ISRO supplies rocket system to support private launch vehicle". mint. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  12. ^ Wang, Catherine. "Indian Space Startup Raises $26.7 Million Series B To Launch Satellites Using 3D-Printed Rocket Engines". Forbes. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  13. ^ "Space startup Agnikul Cosmos raises ₹200 crore". The Times of India. 18 October 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Agnikul Cosmos aims for early 2025 launches following successful test-flight of Agnibaan rocket". The Telegraph. 2 June 2024. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  15. ^ "Agnikul Cosmos fires single-piece, 3D printed rocket engine". MoneyControl. 11 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  16. ^ Kandavel, Sangeetha (8 November 2022). "Chennai-headquartered Agnikul Cosmos successfully test-fires 3D-printed rocket engine". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  17. ^ https://youtube.com/bj805ThRvtM%7C Test firing video of engine on Agnikul's official YouTube channel.
  18. ^ "Agnibaan". AgniKul Cosmos. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  19. ^ a b "ISRO's Backing, Dogged Will: How Chennai Start-Up Scripted Rocket History". NDTV. 30 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  20. ^ a b "Agnikul successfully launches SOrTeD, achieves many firsts". The Times of India. 30 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  21. ^ "Agnikul inaugurates India's first private space vehicle launchpad in Sriharikota". The Indian Express. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  22. ^ Kandavel, Sangeetha (28 November 2022). "Agnikul Cosmos sets up India's first private space vehicle launchpad at Sriharikota". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  23. ^ "Space start-up Agnikul Cosmos sets up India's first private launch pad". India Today. 28 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  24. ^ "Space startup Agnikul Cosmos inaugurates India's first private launchpad at Sriharikota". Financialexpress. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  25. ^ Shukla, Ajai (11 September 2024). "Nibe shoots for stars with Earth observation satellite constellation". Business Standard. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
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