The newly started space tech company, Agnikul Cosmos, today inaugurated India’s first-ever 3D-printed rocket engine factory in Chennai.
The facility, named Rocket Factory 1, was unveiled by the chairman of Tata Sons and Isro, N Chandrasekaran and S Somanath respectively, in the presence of Pawan Goenka, the chairman of IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre). The factory, located at IIT-Madras Research Park, is 10,000-square-foot and will have a 400mm x 400mm x 400mm metal 3D printer from EOS that will make it possible to manufacture a complete rocket engine under one roof.
Agnikul was founded by Srinath Ravichandran, Moin SPM, and SR Chakravarthy (professor of IIT-Madras) in 2017. Its co-founder Srinath Ravichandran said that the factory could make two rocket engines every week and one launch vehicle every month.
“This is a milestone for us as we go from the R&D phase into core manufacturing with the opening of this facility, and begin productionizing the launch vehicle engine making. We have a lot of inbound interest [for launches] from global quarters going up to 2024,” Ravichandran said.
The facility will have 30-35 people working on different processes and machinery, the unit is already staffed with over 90% staff.
