Agnikul Cosmos Establishes First Private Launch Pad at ISRO’s Satish Dhawan Space Center
Indian commercial launch provider Agnikul Cosmos has become the first private company to establish a launch pad and mission control center at the government-run Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota.
ISRO Chairman Shri S. Somanath and other space agency officials joined Agnikul Co-founder and CEO Srinath Ravichandran to inaugurate the facilities on Nov. 25.
“On the occasion, Shri. S. Somanath expressed pleasure over the establishment of the first private launch pad in the country and endorsed that, now, India can travel to space from one more space platform,” ISRO said in a press release.
Agnikul is developing the two-stage Dhanush rocket that will be capable of launching 100 kg (220 lb) into a 700-km (435-mile) high low Earth orbit. The 18-meter (59-foot) tall rocket will be powered by seven Agnite engines in the first stage and a single Agnite engine in its second stage. It will have a liftoff mass of 14,000 kg (30,864 lb).
Dhanush has designed the rocket to be transported on a long trailer and launched quickly from multiple locations.
“Srinath Ravichandran, Co-founder & CEO, Agnikul mentioned that the ability to launch from one’s own launchpad while still working with ISRO’s launch operations teams is a privilege that ISRO & IN-SPACe have granted and that he is deeply grateful for the same,” ISRO said. “Moin SPM, Co-founder, Agnikul thanked ISRO and IN-SPACe for the consistent support for realising Agnikul’s launchpad inside Sriharikota and acknowledged that the new reforms brought by [Department of Space] truly accommodate everyone’s dream of going to space.”
Agnikul is one of a number of companies building private rockets as India attempts to privatize its government-run space program. ISRO has opened its launch and test facilities to these companies.
Founded in 2017, Agnikul is a Chennai-based start-up that was incubated at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT Madras). The company, whose other co-founder was Prof. SR Chakravarthy from IIT Madras, was the first to sign a cooperative agreement with ISRO.
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The good example (in this case!) NASA/USG has established in encouraging private sector entities to build on or use at government space facilities is catching on; here, in India; and recently also, in Germany. Let’s have the democracies of the world do more of this- emulating the best examples of each (rather than, as is sometimes the case, the opposite). – Dave Huntsman