AgniKul fires up reusable rocket dream, orbital launch next target

Agnibaan is a two-stage launch vehicle capable of carrying up to 100 kilograms of payload to an extent of around 700 km to low earth orbit

After the successful test flight of Agnibaan SOrTeD, Chennai-based space startup Agnikul Cosmos is lining up an orbital flight in the next 12 months and is also drawing up an ambitious plan to develop India's first reusable launch vehicle carrying payloads.

In an interview with Business Standard, Moin SPM, co-founder and chief operating officer, Agnikul Cosmos, said like SpaceX, the company wants space launches to be "normal.”

"This (Agnibaan SOrTeD) was a sub-orbital vehicle and the next attempt will be an orbital vehicle. We intend to carry some payloads to space in that as well. We have a few customers who are willing to work on this. The plan is to make sure that we make going to space hassle-free like SpaceX," said Moin.

The orbital launch is expected to happen within the next nine to twelve months. 

Through carrying payloads, the company will be raking revenues for the first time.

"We will be mainly carrying few Earth Observation Satellites and Communication satellites. We also had a lot of interest from universities and a couple of other people as well," Moin explained. 

Agnibaan is a two-stage launch vehicle with the capability to carry up to 100 kg payload to an extent of around 700 km to Earth’s lower orbit.  "We can fly anywhere between 30 to 300 kg. The first vehicle that we are building will be of 100 kg," he said.

The May 30 flight has many firsts attached to it. It was the first launch from a private launchpad of the country's second privately built rocket, and the first, using a combination of gas and liquid fuel. SOrTeD used the world’s first single-piece 3D printed engine, designed and built indigenously. 

When asked about the advantages of cryogenic technology, Moin said it will help in reusing the launch vehicle and the company may try this technology in the developmental stage.

"Reusability is one advantage of the cryogenic engine. You can bring it back like SpaceX. In the liquid you have the control over it. They allow you to take you to the precise orbit. That brings confidence in the customer. We do have the math and physics in place. It (reusable technology) may be seen in the developmental stage itself," he said. 

Founded in 2017 -- by Srinath Ravichandran, Moin SPM, and SR Chakravarthy, a professor from IIT Madras -- AgniKul became the first Indian firm to sign an agreement with the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) in December 2020.

This pioneering agreement was facilitated under the IN-SPACe initiative, granting Agnikul unprecedented access to Isro’s expertise and cutting-edge facilities. The company is one of the highest-funded space startups in India, raising $42 million so far. 

In November 2022, private firm, Skyroot Aerospace, successfully developed and operated the launch vehicle Vikram-1, on a sub-orbital flight from SDSC SHAR, becoming the first player to do so.