During the recent election season, Agnikul Cosmos, a private space company, achieved a historic milestone by successfully launching its domestically-produced rocket in India's space sector. This event carried significant importance for the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), garnering praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar.
The successful launch of Agniba rocket marks a pivotal moment for India and sets it apart in the global space arena. Agnikul's Agniban is noteworthy for being the world's first rocket powered by a 3-D printed engine, launched from the private launchpad at the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota. This achievement follows Skyroot Aerospace's similar success with the 'Vikram' rocket, paying homage to Vikram Sarabhai's contributions to India's space exploration endeavors.
The Agniban rocket, capable of carrying satellites ranging from 30 to 300 kg to low Earth orbit, targets the lucrative small satellite launch market for applications such as disaster management, climate change monitoring, and Earth observation. Skyroot's Vikram rocket shares this capacity, reflecting a growing trend towards commercial satellite launches by private Indian companies.
In response to the escalating demand for small satellite launches, ISRO is developing the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) to complement the efforts of Agnikul and Skyroot. With a higher payload capacity of up to 500 kg, the SSLV aims to further enhance India's capabilities in the satellite launch sector.
