Indian space-tech start-up Agnikul, today announced the opening of its Rocket Factory – 1 – India’s first-ever rocket facility dedicated to 3D printed rocket engines at scale. The rocket facility, situated at IIT Madras Research Park, was unveiled in a launch event by the Chief Guest- Shri N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman- TATA Sons and the Guest of Honour- Shri S. Somanath, Chairman, ISRO & Secretary, Department of Space.
A facility unlike any other – Agnikul’s Rocket Factory – 1, his is a new state-of-the-art production house that houses world-class machinery, including a 400mm x 400mm x 400mm metal 3D-printer from EOS, and a host of other machines that will enable end-to-end manufacturing of a rocket engine under one roof. Additionally, the factory has been designed keeping in mind the ability to produce 2 rocket engines per week. Agnikul had entered into an agreement with EOS in 2021 as their 3d printing partner for engines and this is an important step in seeing that support translate to reality.
Agnibaan is a highly customizable, 2-stage launch vehicle, capable of taking upto 100 kg payload to orbits around 700 km high (low Earth orbits) and enables plug-and-play configuration. Agnilet is the world’s first single-piece 3D printed engine fully designed and manufactured in India and was successfully test-fired in early 2021. Agnikul showcased this engine at IAC 2021, Dubai which is the most prestigious space tech gathering in the world.
Commenting about their new facility, Srinath Ravichandran, Co-founder & CEO, Agnikul said, “This marks the beginning of a new phase – a phase where we step into scaling & production from R&D & testing. I am immensely proud of our team and grateful for their zeal and commitment to translate our vision into reality.”
Moin SPM, Co-founder, Agnikul said, “This is the first of many milestones we look to achieve in the near future and we will continue to focus and work towards making space the next frontier within reach.”
Founded in 2017 by Srinath Ravichandran, Moin SPM & Prof. SR Chakravarthy (from IIT Madras), Agnikul is on a mission to make space accessible and affordable and has its eyes set on supporting Honourable PM’s vision of enabling building of Aatamanirbhar Bharat. The IIT Madras incubated startup became the first Indian company to sign an agreement with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in December 2020. The agreement signed under the IN-SPACe initiative sanctioned Agnikul the access to the Indian space agency’s expertise and facilities to build Agnibaan.
Agnikul has raised a total funding of INR 105 Crores ($15Mn) from Mayfield India, pi Ventures, Speciale Invest,& a host of others including prominent angels such as Anand Mahindra and Naval Ravikant since 2019.