CHENNAI, Apr 6: For the second time, the maiden launch of Chennai-based Space Start-up Agnikul Cosmos’ first rocket Agnibaan Sub Orbital Technology Demonstrator (SOrTeD) from the SHAR Range, Sriharikota, was postponed on Saturday.
Though no official reason was cited for the postponement, sources said it was deferred due to a technical issue.
Agnikul Cosmos announced that the launch postponed and fresh dates would be announced later.
“The launch has been postponed to a later date”, a brief statement said.
The Space Startup had earlier planned to launch it on March 22, but it was postponed due to technical issues.
It was re-scheduled for launch today, but was again deferred.
The launch was scheduled from Agnikul’s own launch pad constructed at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota, at 0600 hrs today, Agnikul officials said.
This will be India’s first launch from a private launch pad located at ISRO’s spaceport.
The launch was scheduled in the presence of ISRO Chairman S.Somanath, IN-SPACe Chairman Dr Pawan Kumar Goenka and officials from the Space Spart-up, which was located at the IIT-Madras Research Park in Taramani in the city.
The Agnibaan SOrTeD will be India’s first semi-cryogenic engine powered rocket launch and World’s first single piece 3D printed engine designed and built indigenously. (PTI)
The Agnikul Launch Pad (ALP) was set up inside Sriharikota as part of the new reforms brought in by the Department of Space to accommodate everyone’s dream of going to space, according to the State-up Co-Founder Moin SM.
Agnibaan is a highly customizable, 2-stage launch vehicle capable of taking up to 100 kg to 300- kg to orbits around 700 km high (Low Earth Orbit) and enables plug -and-play configuration.
With a lift off mass of 14,000 kg, the 18 m tall Agnibaan is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘an arrow of fire’. Agnibaan can access both low and high inclination orbits and is completely mobile – designed for accessing more than 10 launchports.
Driven by LOX/Kerosene engines in all its stages, Agnibaan is configurable by the customer.
The key significance of this launch is that this would be India’s first liquid oxygen- kerosene rocket flight in India and that too from India’s first privately developed launchpad, in Sriharikota.
“More importantly, Agnikul would be flying its patented world’s most integrated single piece 3D printed rocket.
This will be a sub-orbital launch and not a sounding rocket.
This mission attempts to validate the guidance, control, and navigation system, the launch release hold mechanism, the entire command sequence operated by the onboard computer, telemetry and tracking–all that goes with a full orbital flight except stage separation”.
The next step post the mission would be post-flight analysis of all the subsystem performance.
The immediate future plan is to get ready for the orbital flight, Agnikul officials said. (UNI)
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