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#1
Agnibaan ("Arrow of Fire" in Sanskrit) is a 2-stage small-satellite launch vehicle (18 meters tall, 1.3 meters diameter, ~14,000 kg lift-off mass) built by IIT Madras-incubated startup Agnikul Cosmos (founded in 2017 by Srinath Ravichandran and Moin SPM).
#2
Agnibaan is designed to place payloads of up to 100–300 kilograms into Low Earth Orbits (LEO) around 700 km altitude, with an optional third "baby stage" for smaller payloads.
#3
Its core propulsion unit, the Agnilet engine, is the world’s first single-piece, fully 3D-printed (Additive Manufactured) rocket engine, fabricated in one continuous print from Inconel superalloy with zero welds, fasteners, or sub-assembly joints.
#4
Inconel is a family of austenitic nickel-chromium-based superalloys engineered to retain high tensile strength and resist oxidation and creep deformation at extreme combustion chamber temperatures exceeding .
#5
Agnikul prints each Agnilet engine at its IIT Madras Research Park Rocket Factory-1 using EOS metal 3D printers (Selective Laser Melting / Direct Metal Laser Sintering), cutting engine fabrication time from several months to under 72 hours.
#6
Agnilet is a Semi-Cryogenic liquid rocket engine: it burns Liquid Oxygen (LOX, a cryogenic oxidizer stored at ) paired with refined Kerosene / Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF, stored at ambient room temperature).
#7
Unlike full cryogenic engines (which use Liquid Oxygen + Liquid Hydrogen at ), semi-cryogenic LOX-Kerosene propulsion provides higher fuel bulk density, requires smaller propellant tanks, and is safer and faster to fuel on the launchpad.
#8
Unlike hypergolic liquid engines (which burn toxic, carcinogenic Unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine, UDMH, and Nitrogen Tetroxide, ), LOX-Kerosene semi-cryogenic propulsion is non-toxic ("green propellant") and leaves low carbon soot.
#9
Depending on customer payload mass, Agnibaan’s first stage (AgniTe) can be configured with a modular cluster of 4, 6, or 7 Agnilet engines driven by electric-motor-driven propellant pumps (electric pump-fed cycle), while the second stage (AgniLe) uses a single vacuum-optimized Agnilet engine.
#10
In an Electric Pump-Fed Rocket Engine cycle (also used by Rocket Lab’s Rutherford engine), high-speed brushless DC electric motors powered by Lithium-polymer battery packs spin the LOX and kerosene turbopumps, eliminating complex gas-generator turbines.
#11
In November 2022, Agnikul Cosmos inaugurated "Dhanush" at SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota—India’s first private rocket launchpad and private mission control center, facilitated by ISRO and IN-SPACe.
#12
Agnibaan is also engineered for mobile launch flexibility alongside a mobile transporter-erector-launcher pedestal named "Agnibaan Mobile Launchpad," designed to operate from multiple launch ports including Sriharikota and the upcoming Kulasekarapattinam spaceport in Tamil Nadu.
#13
On 30 May 2024, Agnikul successfully launched Agnibaan SOrTeD (Sub-Orbital Technological Demonstrator) from the Dhanush launchpad at Sriharikota.
#14
The Agnibaan SOrTeD mission achieved three "firsts" in Indian space history: (1) first launch from a private launchpad in India, (2) first flight powered by a semi-cryogenic liquid rocket engine in India, and (3) first flight using a single-piece 3D-printed rocket engine.
#15
Unlike traditional sounding rockets that fly unguided on angled launch rails, Agnibaan SOrTeD lifted off vertically and executed a programmed pitch-over maneuver using a 4-axis active thrust-vectoring gimbal and pintle injector system guided by an indigenous autopilot.
#16
In September 2026, the Technology Development Board (TDB) of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, approved ₹200 crore in project funding to Agnikul Cosmos to commercialize the Agnibaan Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) architecture.
#17
Under the TDB-supported RLV program, Agnikul is advancing Agnibaan from Technology Readiness Level 4 (TRL 4) to TRL 8, engineering autonomous retro-propulsion, engine deep-throttling, and in-flight restart capabilities.
#18
Agnikul’s patented reusable architecture targets full two-stage reusability: landing the first-stage booster vertically on an autonomous offshore sea platform (or return-to-launch-site pad) while modifying the upper second stage so that, after deploying its customer payload, the upper stage itself functions as a recoverable orbital satellite bus that re-enters Earth’s atmosphere for refurbishment.
#19
Agnikul Cosmos was the first Indian private space startup to sign a formal Framework Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ISRO under the IN-SPACe authorization regime in December 2020, gaining access to ISRO’s acoustic, vibration, and propulsion test stands.
Subject Specialist Commentary
Analytical perspective & practical exam advice from the Master10 academic board
In UPSC Civil Services Prelims and GS Paper III (Space Technology), Agnikul Cosmos's Agnibaan launch vehicle represents one of the highest-yield topics in India's post-2020 private space ecosystem alongside Skyroot Aerospace's solid-fueled Vikram-S. Aspirants must carefully note the propulsion distinction: whereas Skyroot's Vikram-S (Prarambh mission, November 2022) used a solid propellant motor, Agnikul's Agnibaan SOrTeD (May 2024) achieved India's first flight of a Semi-Cryogenic liquid rocket engine (Liquid Oxygen + Aviation Turbine Fuel/Kerosene) and the world's first flight of a single-piece 3D-printed Inconel engine ('Agnilet') launched from India's first private launchpad ('Dhanush' at Sriharikota).
For 2026–2027 examinations, candidates should highlight the Department of Science and Technology (DST) Technology Development Board's ₹200 crore backing (September 2026) to advance the Agnibaan Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) from TRL 4 to TRL 8—pioneering both booster vertical recovery and upper-stage orbital re-entry in the small-satellite segment.
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