Why is it in the news?
- India’s Agnikul successfully launches world’s 1st single-piece 3D-printed rocket engine, ‘Agnibaan’.
With assistance from ISRO, the startup successfully carried out a sub-orbital test-flight of its home-built rocket — Agnibaan —from Sriharikota.
| 3D printing:
· 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a process of creating three-dimensional objects from digital models by adding material layer by layer. · It is an additive process, in which layers of a material like plastic, composites or bio-materials are built up to construct objects that range in shape, size, rigidity and colour. · This process allows for more efficient and customized production compared to traditional subtractive manufacturing methods. |
Agnibaan SOrTeD (Sub-Orbital Technology Demonstrator):
- Agnikul Cosmos successfully test-fires Agnibaan SOrTeD rocket on fifth attempt, achieving suborbital spaceflight.
- A sub-orbital launch is a spaceflight that reaches outer space but doesn’t complete an orbit around the Earth.
- The spacecraft’s trajectory intersects the Earth’s atmosphere or surface, so it doesn’t become an artificial satellite or reach escape velocity.
- Second private company to launch rocket after Sky root in 2022.
Features:
- Agnibaan, a two-stage launch vehicle, offers customizable options and can carry payloads up to 300 kg to a 700 km orbit. It utilizes semi-cryogenic engine technology, not yet demonstrated by ISRO.
- A semi-cryogenic engine is a type of rocket engine that uses a combination of liquid and gaseous propellants.
- It operates at temperatures higher than cryogenic engines but lower than traditional liquid rocket engines.
- They use refined kerosene instead of liquid hydrogen, which is lighter and can be stored at normal temperatures.
- The test flight aims to:
- demonstrate the in-house and homegrown technologies, gather crucial flight data, and
- ensure the optimal functioning of systems for AgniKul’s orbital launch vehicle, ‘Agnibaan’.
- It can access both low and high-inclination orbits and is completely mobile — designed for accessing more than 10 launch ports
| Key takeaways: Agni Baan Milestones
· Agnibaan has become the world’s first 3D printed engine. · It became the first semi-cryogenic engine-powered rocket launch. · It also became India’s first rocket launch from a private launchpad. · Agnibaan is powered by the only rocket engine in the country that uses both gas and liquid fuel (liquid oxygen/kerosene). |
