BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indian company Agnikul Cosmos launched its Agnibaan rocket, powered by India’s only rocket engine to use both gas and liquid fuel, for the first time on Thursday in the country’s second flight of a privately built rocket.
The Agnibaan’s first flight had been canceled four times in the past two months due to technical problems. The most recent cancellation occurred Tuesday, when the launch was aborted five seconds before liftoff.
On Thursday, the customizable two-stage launcher, designed to carry a payload of up to 300 kg (661 lb) to an orbit of about 700 kilometers altitude (435 miles), flew for two minutes to a maximum altitude, or apogee, of 8,076 meters before crashing into the ocean.
“All mission objectives for this controlled vertical climb flight were achieved and performance was nominal,” the company said.
The South Asian nation’s space agency, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), has failed to fly a rocket equipped with a so-called “semi-cryogenic” engine.
“A major milestone, as this is the first-ever controlled flight of a semi-cryogenic liquid engine achieved through additive manufacturing,” ISRO said on social media platform X.
Thursday’s suborbital flight was aimed at testing the new engine and 3D printed parts.
Pawan K Goenka, chairman of India’s National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe), also hailed the “historic moment”. The Indian Space Association (ISpA) said the launch would “strengthen global confidence” in the country’s private space industry.
In recent years, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pushed for the privatization and commercialization of the country’s space sector.
India’s first privately developed rocket, from Skyroot, flew in 2022.
Agnikul, whose name is derived from the Hindi and Sanskrit word for fire, was founded in 2017 and operates India’s first private launch pad and mission control center. All other launch pads are operated by ISRO.
(Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Writing by Sakshi Dayal. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
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