Agnibaan Rocket of Start-Up Agnikul Cosmos Successfully Test Fired

Chennai: Agnibaan SOrTeD (Suborbital Tech Demonstrator) rocket manufactured by Agnikul Cosmos, India’s private space start-up, was successfully test fired on Thursday. It lifted off from Sriharikota plunging into the Bay of Bengal.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has announced the successful launch of the Agnibaan rocket of the Chennai based start-up at 7.15 am. ISRO chairman Mr S Somanath confirmed to NDTV that the launch was “successful”.

“Congratulations @AgnikulCosmos for the successful launch of the Agnibaan SoRTed-01 mission from their launch pad. A major milestone, as the first-ever controlled flight of a semi-cryogenic liquid engine realized through additive manufacturing,” ISRO posted on X.

This was the fifth attempt of Agnikul Cosmos to launch the rocket. Previous four launch plans were aborted due to technical glitches.

This was the first test flight for the start-up, founded in 2017 by two young aerospace engineers. The test fired rocket weighs 575 kg and is 6.2-metre long.

The Agnibaan SOrTeD is powered by a semi-cryogenic engine that uses commercially available aviation turbine fuel, essentially kerosene and medical grade liquid oxygen, said Moin SPM authorities.