New Delhi: Chennai-based space start-up Agnikul Cosmos on Tuesday aborted the maiden launch of its 3D-printed, semi-cryogenic Agnibaan rocket after a technical glitch was detected seconds before take-off.
The IIT-Chennai incubated start-up made two fresh launch attempts from its own launch pad in Sriharikota - the first at around 5.30 pm and the second at 9.25 pm - which had to be aborted due to problems in the hold down release mechanism (HDRM) and igniter failure, Respectively.
The second attempt on Tuesday was put on "temporary hold to check ignite performance" just five seconds before lift-off.
This was the fourth attempt by Agnikul to launch the Agnibaan Sub-Orbit Technology Demonstrator (SORTED) after March 22, when the test flight was first scheduled to be conducted at the Agnikul launch pad at ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota.
The start-up made a second attempt to launch the rocket on April 6, which was aborted during pre-launch checks.A third attempt was made on 7 April which had to be aborted within one second of the start of the automatic launch sequence due to communication problems with the onboard software.
Agnikul is looking to launch India's second private rocket, after start-up Skyroot Aerospace launched its Vikram-S sub-orbit rocket in its first attempt in November 2022.
According to the company, Agnibaan is a customizable, two-stage launch vehicle that can carry a payload of up to 300 kg to an orbit of about 700 km.
The rocket uses a semi-cryogenic engine with a mixture of liquid and gas propellant, a technology that the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has not yet demonstrated in any of its rockets.
The SOrTeD mission is a single-stage launch vehicle demonstration that will be powered by an indigenously developed semi-cryogenic engine, Agnilet, a sub-cooled liquid oxygen-based propulsion system.The start-up has equipped the vehicle with India's first Ethernet-based avionic architecture and completely in-house developed autopilot software.
Powered by sub-cooled liquid oxygen (LOX) and aviation turbine fuel (ATF), the vehicle is equipped with four carbon composite wings to provide passive control.
The Agnilet engine is the world's first single-piece 3D-printed semi-cryogenic rocket engine.
The mission will last just over two minutes from launch to splashdown.
After lift-off, the vehicle is expected to perform a pitch-over maneuver approximately four seconds into flight.This maneuver involves controlled rotation of the vehicle to change its orientation from vertical to a predetermined angle with respect to the ground on the vehicle's flight path.
The vehicle will then go into a wind-biased maneuver in just over 3 seconds, which is introduced to compensate for the effect of wind on the rocket's trajectory during ascent into the rocket.
At 1 minute 29 seconds, the launch vehicle is expected to reach apogee, the point at which it will be farthest from the launch site, before it drops down just over two minutes into the flight, marking the completion of the mission. Is a symbol.
The IIT-Chennai incubated start-up made two fresh launch attempts from its own launch pad in Sriharikota - the first at around 5.30 pm and the second at 9.25 pm - which had to be aborted due to problems in the hold down release mechanism (HDRM) and igniter failure, Respectively.
The second attempt on Tuesday was put on "temporary hold to check ignite performance" just five seconds before lift-off.
This was the fourth attempt by Agnikul to launch the Agnibaan Sub-Orbit Technology Demonstrator (SORTED) after March 22, when the test flight was first scheduled to be conducted at the Agnikul launch pad at ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota.
The start-up made a second attempt to launch the rocket on April 6, which was aborted during pre-launch checks.A third attempt was made on 7 April which had to be aborted within one second of the start of the automatic launch sequence due to communication problems with the onboard software.
Agnikul is looking to launch India's second private rocket, after start-up Skyroot Aerospace launched its Vikram-S sub-orbit rocket in its first attempt in November 2022.
According to the company, Agnibaan is a customizable, two-stage launch vehicle that can carry a payload of up to 300 kg to an orbit of about 700 km.
The rocket uses a semi-cryogenic engine with a mixture of liquid and gas propellant, a technology that the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has not yet demonstrated in any of its rockets.
The SOrTeD mission is a single-stage launch vehicle demonstration that will be powered by an indigenously developed semi-cryogenic engine, Agnilet, a sub-cooled liquid oxygen-based propulsion system.The start-up has equipped the vehicle with India's first Ethernet-based avionic architecture and completely in-house developed autopilot software.
Powered by sub-cooled liquid oxygen (LOX) and aviation turbine fuel (ATF), the vehicle is equipped with four carbon composite wings to provide passive control.
The Agnilet engine is the world's first single-piece 3D-printed semi-cryogenic rocket engine.
The mission will last just over two minutes from launch to splashdown.
After lift-off, the vehicle is expected to perform a pitch-over maneuver approximately four seconds into flight.This maneuver involves controlled rotation of the vehicle to change its orientation from vertical to a predetermined angle with respect to the ground on the vehicle's flight path.
The vehicle will then go into a wind-biased maneuver in just over 3 seconds, which is introduced to compensate for the effect of wind on the rocket's trajectory during ascent into the rocket.
At 1 minute 29 seconds, the launch vehicle is expected to reach apogee, the point at which it will be farthest from the launch site, before it drops down just over two minutes into the flight, marking the completion of the mission. Is a symbol.
