Agnikul puts off for third time launch of Agnibaan sub-orbital rocket

Chennai-based space start-up Agnikul Cosmos on Sunday called off the maiden launch of its 3D-printed, semi-cryogenic Agnibaan rocket about 92 seconds before lift-off citing some technical issues.

Sunday's was the third attempt at the test launch of the Agnibaan Sub-Orbital Technology Demonstrator (SOrTeD) since March 22, when the test flight was first scheduled to be held at the Agnikul Launch Pad at ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota.

The second attempt at the test launch at 7.45 am on Saturday also could not fructify. On Sunday, the Agnibaan SOrTeD launch was scheduled at 5.30 am but was put off to 7.45 am. "The Agnibaan SOrTeD lift-off was cancelled at T minus 92 seconds," the IIT Chennai incubated start-up said.

Agnikul is seeking to conduct India's second private rocket launch, following startup Skyroot Aerospace's November 2022 launch of the Vikram-S sub-orbital rocket. Agnibaan is a customisable, two-stage launch vehicle that can carry a payload of up to 300 kg into orbit of about 700 km, according to the company.

The rocket uses a semi-cryogenic engine with a mix of liquid and gas propellants, a technology that is yet to be demonstrated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in any of its rockets.

The SOrTeD mission is a single-stage launch vehicle demonstration that will be powered by a semi-cryogenic engine, the Agnilet, a sub-cooled liquid oxygen-based propulsion system developed indigenously.

The start-up has readied the vehicle with the first-ever ethernet-based avionics architecture and fully in-house developed autopilot software from India. Powered by sub-cooled Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), the vehicle is equipped with four carbon composite fins 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. Following lift-off, the vehicle is expected to perform a pitch-over manoeuvre nearly four seconds into flight.

This manoeuvre involves the controlled rotation of the vehicle to change its orientation from vertical to a predetermined angle with respect to the ground or its flight path.

The vehicle will then go into the wind biasing manoeuvre at just over 39 seconds, which is introduced in rockets to compensate for the effects of wind on the trajectory of the rocket during ascent.

At 1 minute 29 seconds, the launch vehicle is expected to reach apogee, the point it will be farthest from the launch site before it splashes down at just over two minutes into the flight, marking the completion of the mission.