New Delhi: Indian space sector start-up Agnikul Cosmos has announced the successful test-firing of its semi-cryogenic rocket engine, which has been fully manufactured as a single piece using 3-D printing technology.
Agnikul’s semi-cryogenic engine, called Agnilet, would be fuelled by rocket-grade kerosene, and uses liquid oxygen (stored at -183 degrees celsius) as an oxidiser.
Rocket engines are usually comprised of hundreds of parts that serve various purposes, but according to the company, Agnilet was designed to encapsulate all of these into just one piece of hardware. So, this automates the making of an entire engine.
The company’s maiden rocket Agnibaan is a two-stage launch vehicle. A typical rocket consists of two or more stages, each of which would have its own engines (either single or packed in a cluster). Simply put, a rocket is a combination of multiple engines (stages) that are vertically stacked.
Agnibaan is being designed and developed to lift up to 100 kg to 700 km Low Earth orbit. So far, the team has test-fired its second engine – Agnilet, (1.2kN thrust) while the first stage engine – Agnite (25kN thrust) is expected to be test-fired later this year.
When asked about the significance of the 3-D printing technology and the advantages, Srinath Ravichandran, CEO and co-founder of Agnikul Cosmos said that it was quick, cost-effective and had no room for errors. “In the conventional process, it could take longer than a month to fabricate the very same engine. With 3-D printing, we can realie light-weight engines despite their complex geometry. Our single-piece 3-D printed engine requires no assembly, it can pretty much be directly fitted into the rocket,” he said.
“Since our inception, we have always been a huge believer of the “Make in India” ideals and more recently of the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision of our Prime Minister. True to that spirit, everything about this engine is Indian,” said Moin SPM, Co-founder and COO of the company.
Team Agnikul are aiming for their maiden orbital launch by 2022 and company officials said they have signed Memoranda of Understanding with a few customers for offering their launch services.
