30 Nov 2023
Last month, Agnikul raised $26.7 million from Rocketship.vc and Celesta Capital. Its customers will be anyone building a small satellite and targeting a low Earth orbit.
Chennai-based space tech startup Agnikul plans to test its first flight with the world’s first 3D printed engine before this year ends. The company was incubated in IIT Madras and specialises in building Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV). If the test is successful, Agnikul will become India’s second private manufacturer to build small SLVs. The first company to do it was Skyroot Aerospace, that launched Vikram S in November 2022.
Agnikul plans its first commercial orbital launch next year. This final technology demonstrator test will be conducted on the IIT Madras campus. The launch vehicle is ready, and once the team receives the final nod from ISRO, the SLV will be all set to go. Their rocket, Agnibaan, will lift off vertically and follow a predetermined path. The world’s first 3D printed is patented. It was fully designed and built in India and successfully test fired in early 2021.