Agnikul Cosmos opens India’s first private rocket engine factory in Chennai

Tags: Science and Technology

Space tech startup Agnikul Cosmos on 13 July inaugurated India's first-ever facility to manufacture 3D-printed rocket engines in Chennai.

Important facts

• Space tech startup Agnikul Cosmos on 13 July inaugurated India's first-ever facility to manufacture 3D-printed rocket engines in Chennai.

• It was inaugurated by N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons and S. Somanath, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

•  On this occasion Pawan Goenka, chairman of Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) was also present.

• The facility will house world-class machinery, including a 400 mm x 400 mm x 400 mm metal 3D-printer from EOS, and several other machines that will enable end-to-end manufacturing of rocket engines under one roof.

• Agnikul had entered into an agreement with EOS in 2021 as the 3D printing partner for the engines.

Rocket Agnibaan 

• It is building India’s first private small satellite launch vehicle whose name is Agnibaan, a rocket that enables plug-and-play configuration and is capable of carrying up to 100 kg of payload to low Earth orbits. 

• This on-demand rocket can be completely customized to the needs of the customer at an affordable cost.

• Agnibaan will be launched in 2022. 

Agnikul Cosmos 

• Agnikul Cosmos is a group of enthusiasts, rocket scientists, engineers, programmers etc.

• It was founded in 2017 by Srinath Ravichandran, Moin SPM and S R Chakravarthy (from IIT Madras).

• Agnikul became the first Indian company to sign agreement with ISRO in December 2020.