India's second private rocket slated for launch later in the month

Chennai-based space startup, AgniKul Cosmos, incubated at IIT-Madras, will later this month launch its pioneering 3-D printed sub-orbital rocket, Agnibaan SOrTeD.

Scheduled to take off from its private launchpad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, this would be India's second privately built rocket venture, reported PTI.

The announcement of the launch window was made by AgniKul Cosmos through a post on X that read: "March 22-28, 2024."

The Agnibaan SOrTeD rocket, powered by AgniKul's patented Agnilet engine, is a single-stage launch vehicle boasting a 3D-printed, single-piece, 6 kilonewtons (kN) semi-cryogenic engine.

Designed as a two-stage launch vehicle, the Agnibaan rocket is equipped to deploy payloads of up to 100 kg into a low earth orbit at a distance of 700 km.

Hyderabad-based space startup, Skyroot Aerospace, made history by becoming India's first private company to successfully launch the sub-orbital rocket, Vikram-S in November 2022.

A 3-D printed rocket is manufactured using a process called 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing. In this process, a rocket's components are built layer by layer using materials such as metal or plastic, which are deposited and fused together based on a digital design.