Chennai-based space technology startup Agnikul Cosmos has inaugurated India’s first privately designed and operated launchpad at the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota.

Designed by Agnikul and built-in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Indian National Space Propulsion and Authorisation Center (IN-SPACe), the facility is divided into two parts: Agnikul Launch Pad (ALP) and Agnikul Mission Control Center (AMCC). Both are 4 kilometres apart.

The launchpad will support liquid phase-controlled launches, meeting the needs of ISRO’s range operations team to monitor critical flight safety parameters during launches.

Additionally, it can share data and other vital information with ISRO’s Mission Control Center as needed. In December, the startup will use the launchpad to test launches of its Agnibaan launch vehicle, powered by a patented 3D-printed engine called Agnilet.

Depending on the results of the launch, the company intends to conduct a commercial launch with a customer payload in March or April 2023.

Agnibaan is a two-stage, customisable launch vehicle capable of delivering payloads of up to 100kg to orbits at an altitude of approximately 700km (Low Earth Orbit) and supports a plug-and-play configuration.

Agnilet is the world’s first unibody 3D-printed engine designed and manufactured entirely in India. It successfully test-fired at ISRO in early 2021, becoming the first company in the country to do so.

ISRO Chairman and Secretary of the Department of Space S Somanath inaugurated the facility in Sriharikota on November 25. The meeting was attended by S Unnikrishnan Nair, Director of VSSC and A Rajarajan, Director of SDSC SHAR, among others.

Srinath Ravichandran, Moin SPM and Professor SR Chakravarthy founded the startup at IIT Madras in 2017. It has raised $15 million to date, including an $11 million Series A round backed by investors including Mayfield India and angel investors Anand Mahindra and Nithin Kamath.

In December 2020, an IIT Madras-incubated startup became the first Indian company to sign an agreement with ISRO. The IN-SPACe agreement allows Agnikul to use the expertise and facilities of ISRO for the construction of Agnibaan and its launchpad.