Rocket with a 3D- printed engine has been launched by  space start-up Agnikul Cosmos Private Limited 

• Agnikul Cosmos became the first company in the country to sign an agreement with ISRO under the IN-SPACe initiative to have access to the space agency’s expertise and its facilities to build Agnibaan in 2020.

About Agnibaan SubOrbital Technology Demonstrator (SOrTeD)

• The Rocket: The Rocket named, Agnibaan SubOrbital Technology Demonstrator (SOrTeD) comprises a single piece 3D-printed engine designed and built indigenously, is launched from Sriharikota.
  • Sub- Orbital Launch: The mission was designed to reach a height of about 8 kilometres before splashing into the sea.
• Agnibaan SOrTeD will be Agnikul’s first flight and the second launch by a private startup in India.
  • 1st private rocket launch:  Private launch provider Skyroot, achieved its first sub-orbital launch in 2022
• Private Launchpad: Agnibaan SOrTeD is India’s first launch from a private mobile launchpad, called ‘Dhanush’, established by Agnikul.
• India’s first semi- cryogenic engine: Agnibaan SOrTeD is  also India’s first semi-cryogenic engine powered rocket launch making it the  first-ever controlled flight of a semi-cryogenic liquid engine realised through additive manufacturing.
  • The engine called,  Agnilet, uses sub-cooled oxygen as fuel. 
• Purpose: To serve as a test flight and demonstrate in-house and home-grown technologies, gather crucial flight data and ensure optimal functioning of systems for Agnikul’s orbital launch vehicle, the ‘Agnibaan’.
• Payload capacity: While this was a suborbital launch, the vehicle can fly payloads ranging from 30 kg to 300 kg.
• Competitive edge: The use of the 3D-printed manufacturing process is likely to lower the launch cost and cut down the vehicle assembly time. 
  • Usually engine parts are manufactured separately and assembled later. Agnibaan is the world’s most integrated single shot 3D printed piece, signalling the unparalleled  ability to rapidly assemble rockets.

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