Space tech startup Agnikul opens India’s first rocket engine factory in Chennai
Tech

Space tech startup Agnikul opens India’s first rocket engine factory in Chennai

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.