New Delhi: The world's first 3D rocket Agniban has been successfully launched. This rocket was launched from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. Also, Agnikul Cosmos, a private space company in Chennai, developed this Suborbital Technological Demonstrator (Agniban SOrTeD) rocket.
Space startup company Agnikul Cosmos successfully test-fired its first rocket on May 30. The test launch was supposed to take place on Tuesday, but the launch was postponed twice due to some technical reasons. Inspace, which acts as a bridge between private companies and the space department, shared the launch information on behalf of the company and said that the Agnikul rocket was successfully test-fired on Thursday. Apart from this, ISRO also gave information about this launch through social media.
Suborbital Mission Agniban
Informing about the launch, Agnikul co-founder and CEO Srinath Ravichandran said that this is a suborbital mission. If it succeeds, we will be able to check whether our autopilot, navigation and guidance systems are working properly. We will also try to know what kind of preparations we have to do for the launchpad.
Separately prepared launch pad
ISRO assisted Agnikul for this launch. For this launch, ISRO built a small launch pad in Sriharikota. Which was about 4 km away from the other launch pad. This launch pad is equipped with the latest technology. Vertical takeoff rockets of private companies are launched from here.
Anand Mahindra invested in this company
Anand Mahindra, a well-known industrialist of the country, funded Agnikul Cosmos. Agnikul is a space startup company created by a couple of young people together. Anand Mahindra has funded this company to the tune of Rs 80.43 crore. Apart from Anand Mahindra, Pai Ventures, Special Invest and Earth Ventures have also invested in this project.
The company was established in Chennai. It was jointly initiated by Srinath Ravichandran, Moin SPM and Professor SR Chakraborty of IIT Madras. The fireballs developed by them are capable of placing satellites weighing 100 kilograms into low earth orbit.
