Just before launch, Agnikul’s Agnibaan test mission was postponed. Citing technical difficulties, private aerospace company Agnikul has postponed the first test launch of its Agnibaan SOrTeD rocket for a third time.
Only a few minutes before the liftoff, the planned test launch from ALP-01, India’s first private launchpad, which is situated at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, was called off.
Suborbital Technology Demonstrator, or SOrTeD, mission is a one-stage launch vehicle demonstration using an Agnilet subcooled liquid oxygen-based propulsion system, which is an indigenously built semi-cryogenic engine.
The test launch on Sunday was originally scheduled for Saturday, but due to technical difficulties, the aerospace company had to postpone the liftoff while doing pre-launch checks.
The rocket manufacturer, which is housed at IIT-Madras, did not offer an explanation for the March 1st delay in the Agnibaan launch.
Agnikul has not provided a new launch window for Agnibaan, a two-stage, customizable rocket that can send a cargo as heavy as 300 kg into an orbit that is roughly 700 km in diameter.
India would make significant technological advancements with this mission, even though it would only take two minutes from launch to splashdown. This is because the Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) has never successfully flown a semi-cryogenic engine, which combines liquid and gas propellant.
The inaugural SOrTeD mission aims to accomplish three key goals: it will showcase India’s first launch from a private launchpad; it will demonstrate the nation’s first rocket launch powered by a semi-cryogenic engine; and it will use the first single-piece 3D-printed engine that is designed and manufactured in India to power a launch vehicle.
