Explainer: Why is India's 3D rocket 'Agnibaan' a game changer, know what is special about it?
Agnibaan Rocket: Amid the hustle and bustle of elections, a private space company Agnikul Cosmos on Thursday wrote a new chapter in India's space sector by successfully launching the first indigenously built rocket. Why was this event so important that from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to PM Narendra Modi congratulated Agnikul Cosmos…
Did this happen for the first time in India?
In November 2022, Skyroot Aerospace, a space start-up like Agnikul, has launched its Vikram rocket. Agnibaan is a step ahead of this. It was powered by the world's first 3-D printed engine and was launched from Agnikul's own launchpad built at ISRO's Sriharikota launch facility. Both Agnikul and Skyroot hope to start launching commercial satellites on their rockets within a year.
Will space exploration be done with these?
These rockets are targeting the small satellite market to meet the growing demand for space-based applications in areas such as communications, broadcasting, disaster management, climate change, Earth and ocean observation, urban planning and monitoring.
These rockets will be able to carry payloads between 30 kg to 300 kg in low Earth orbits. These satellites are not usually for space exploration or scientific experiments. Agnikul expects 35 to 40 launches of its Agnibaan rockets every year.
What is special about Agnibaan rocket?
The biggest feature of Agnibaan is that its domestically developed semi-cryogenic engine 'Agnilet' is completely 3-D printed. There are no joints, no welding and no fusing. So far no one has used a 3-D printed complete engine.
At the same time, for the first time in the country, Agnibaan was launched from a privately owned launch pad. The company has built its own launch pad in the Sriharikota range with the help of ISRO. The advantage of this is that it can schedule its launch whenever it wants.
Will the environment change with the arrival of private players?
Companies like Agnikul and Skyroot are a symbol of the success of India's efforts to open the space sector for private participation. Dozens of space companies have emerged in the last few years, which are working in many different areas of the space market like satellite,
space-based applications, hardware, communication, data centers. With the arrival of private companies too, space has become an emerging sector which the government is promoting on a large scale.