New Delhi: After the successful test-flight of Agnibaan SOrTeD, Chennai-based space start-up Agnikul Cosmos is hoping to start launching satellites early next year.
Agnikul co-founder and CEO Srinath Ravichandran said in an interview that the 3D-printed semi-cryogenic engines and rockets will offer quick turnaround for customers who will be able to get customized launch vehicles for their satellites.
Asked about the commercial orbital launch of the Agnibaan rocket, Ravichandran said, "I would say nine to 12 months. Probably by the end of this financial year or early part of the next financial year we are targeting."
The first test flight of Agnibaan SOrTeD (Suborbital Technology Demonstrator) on 30 May, which lasted 66 seconds, came after four failed attempts."It was a huge sense of relief. I think we learned a lot in distinguishing between building a vehicle and launching a vehicle," said Ravichandran, whose idea of using 3D printing technology to make engines and rockets Gave birth to Agnikul Cosmos, a space sector start-up at IIT Madras Research Park in 2017.
The other co-founders were Moin SPM, an operations expert and Satyanarayan Chakraborty, professor at IIT Madras and head of the National Combustion Research and Development Centre.
Woman engineer Sarnia Periyaswami, Vehicle Director of Agnibaan SOrTeD and Umamaheshwari.The project director of the first mission was K. Played an important role in the test flight.
The Agnibaan had a vertical ascent flight, unlike the SOrTeD sounding rockets, which are launched using a guide rail placed at a particular angle.
"Seven seconds after lift-off we checked the health of the vehicle and that's when the auto-pilot kicked in. Shortly after takeoff, it started moving over the ocean and performed a pitch-over maneuver and then proceeded on its plan Trajectory,” Ravichandran said while sharing details of the first flight of Agnibaan SOrTeD.He said, "Once it got to about 60 seconds, we entered the wind bias maneuver, where we solve the wind speed and actually fly into the wind so that there is not as much wind load on the vehicle. "
After a wind-biased maneuver, the rocket continued to fly until it detonated and fell back into the ocean.
Ravichandran said, "There was continuous radar tracking of the vehicle. All the instruments and equipment that enabled this also worked really well."
The next step for Agnikul is to master the technique of running multiple engines simultaneously and testing for phase separation."We have to figure out two things. Our orbital rocket has multiple engines mounted simultaneously. So, it has to be tested on the ground. And stage separation. SOrTeD was a single stage vehicle.The orbital vehicle will have two stages. So phase separation should be tested,” Ravichandran said.
He said, "We are already in the middle of building the rigs at our facility. It will take us six-seven months to get it done and from there we will be able to target orbital missions in the next three months."
According to Ravichandran, the demand for small satellites was high as at least 30-35 tonnes of payloads were put into low Earth orbits every year.Small satellites have a short lifespan and need to be replenished for continuous Earth-imaging or communications applications, he said.
The Agnibaan launch vehicle is designed to be compatible with a mobile launchpad called Dhanush and can be configured to accommodate payloads ranging from 30 kg to 300 kg, ensuring versatility across a wide range of mission requirements. Does.
Agnikul co-founder and CEO Srinath Ravichandran said in an interview that the 3D-printed semi-cryogenic engines and rockets will offer quick turnaround for customers who will be able to get customized launch vehicles for their satellites.
Asked about the commercial orbital launch of the Agnibaan rocket, Ravichandran said, "I would say nine to 12 months. Probably by the end of this financial year or early part of the next financial year we are targeting."
The first test flight of Agnibaan SOrTeD (Suborbital Technology Demonstrator) on 30 May, which lasted 66 seconds, came after four failed attempts."It was a huge sense of relief. I think we learned a lot in distinguishing between building a vehicle and launching a vehicle," said Ravichandran, whose idea of using 3D printing technology to make engines and rockets Gave birth to Agnikul Cosmos, a space sector start-up at IIT Madras Research Park in 2017.
The other co-founders were Moin SPM, an operations expert and Satyanarayan Chakraborty, professor at IIT Madras and head of the National Combustion Research and Development Centre.
Woman engineer Sarnia Periyaswami, Vehicle Director of Agnibaan SOrTeD and Umamaheshwari.The project director of the first mission was K. Played an important role in the test flight.
The Agnibaan had a vertical ascent flight, unlike the SOrTeD sounding rockets, which are launched using a guide rail placed at a particular angle.
"Seven seconds after lift-off we checked the health of the vehicle and that's when the auto-pilot kicked in. Shortly after takeoff, it started moving over the ocean and performed a pitch-over maneuver and then proceeded on its plan Trajectory,” Ravichandran said while sharing details of the first flight of Agnibaan SOrTeD.He said, "Once it got to about 60 seconds, we entered the wind bias maneuver, where we solve the wind speed and actually fly into the wind so that there is not as much wind load on the vehicle. "
After a wind-biased maneuver, the rocket continued to fly until it detonated and fell back into the ocean.
Ravichandran said, "There was continuous radar tracking of the vehicle. All the instruments and equipment that enabled this also worked really well."
The next step for Agnikul is to master the technique of running multiple engines simultaneously and testing for phase separation."We have to figure out two things. Our orbital rocket has multiple engines mounted simultaneously. So, it has to be tested on the ground. And stage separation. SOrTeD was a single stage vehicle.The orbital vehicle will have two stages. So phase separation should be tested,” Ravichandran said.
He said, "We are already in the middle of building the rigs at our facility. It will take us six-seven months to get it done and from there we will be able to target orbital missions in the next three months."
According to Ravichandran, the demand for small satellites was high as at least 30-35 tonnes of payloads were put into low Earth orbits every year.Small satellites have a short lifespan and need to be replenished for continuous Earth-imaging or communications applications, he said.
The Agnibaan launch vehicle is designed to be compatible with a mobile launchpad called Dhanush and can be configured to accommodate payloads ranging from 30 kg to 300 kg, ensuring versatility across a wide range of mission requirements. Does.
