On 30 May 2024, a small rocket built in Chennai lifted off from a private launchpad inside the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. The flight, called Agnibaan SOrTeD (Sub-Orbital Technological Demonstrator), was the first controlled flight of a semi-cryogenic liquid engine in India, and the engine itself had been 3D-printed as a single piece. The company behind it, Agnikul Cosmos, is based in the IIT Madras Research Park in Taramani.
Agnikul was founded in 2017 by Srinath Ravichandran, Moin SPM and Prof. S.R. Chakravarthy of IIT Madras, and incubated at the institute. Its goal is a small launch vehicle that can carry satellites to low Earth orbit at short notice, from more than one location.
India’s first private launchpad
Agnikul was the first Indian company to sign an agreement with ISRO under the IN-SPACe framework, in December 2020, giving it access to ISRO expertise and facilities. That led to India’s first privately designed and operated launchpad and mission control centre, inside the Sriharikota range. ISRO’s announcement says the facility was inaugurated on 25 November 2022 by then ISRO chairman S. Somanath. The mission control centre sits about 4 km from the pad, shares data with ISRO’s own mission control, and ISRO’s range teams oversee flight safety during launches.
The 30 May 2024 flight
A Deccan Herald report on the launch said it came after several called-off attempts and that the company reported all mission objectives met. Agnikul claimed three firsts: a launch from a private pad, India’s first semi-cryogenic engine flight, and the world’s first single-piece 3D-printed engine. ISRO described it as a major milestone achieved through additive manufacturing. A June 2026 YourStory profile said the vehicle reached about 20 km before coming down in the Bay of Bengal.
How the engine is made
A conventional rocket engine is assembled from many machined and welded parts. Agnikul prints its engine in one go from Inconel, a nickel alloy that tolerates high heat. A NITI Aayog Frontier Tech Hub story says the engine weighs about 11 to 12 kg, has no welding or assembly, and can be produced at up to two engines a week at the company’s AS9100D-certified Rocket Factory-1. The same story says Agnikul in 2025 test-fired India’s first semi-cryogenic engine driven by electric motors rather than turbopumps.
The semi-cryogenic design burns kerosene with liquid oxygen. Kerosene is easier to store than the liquid hydrogen used in fully cryogenic stages, which suits a small rocket meant for quick turnarounds. Printing also lets engineers change a design between test firings without retooling a production line.
The Agnibaan rocket
| Agnibaan detail | Figure |
|---|---|
| Stages | Two |
| Height | 18 m |
| Payload range (design) | 30 kg to 300 kg to low Earth orbit |
| First-stage engines | Four to seven, depending on mission |
| Launch options | Sriharikota pad or a truck-mounted mobile launcher |
The figures above come from the Deccan Herald and YourStory reports and the NITI Aayog story. ISRO’s 2022 note said the first orbital launch was planned to carry up to 100 kg to about 700 km altitude.
Money, Tamil Nadu’s stake and what comes next
The company’s funding had reached about USD 40 million by mid-2026, according to YourStory, including a USD 26.7 million Series B round in 2023. In March 2026, Tamil Nadu’s industrial development corporation TIDCO approved a Rs 25 crore investment in Agnikul under the state’s Startup Investment Policy 2025, with approval letters issued on 14 March, Inc42 reported. It was among the first investments under that policy.
No orbital flight had taken place as of October 2026. In July 2026, Agnikul named former ISRO chairman S. Somanath as an observer on its board ahead of what it calls Mission 02, The Machine Maker reported. That mission is meant to test controlled ocean recovery of the first stage and to turn the upper stage into a platform that keeps working in orbit after releasing its payload. The company says the Agnite semi-cryogenic engine, validated earlier in 2026, is central to the mission. No launch date had been announced.
For Chennai, Agnikul is the most visible sign that the IIT Madras incubation ecosystem can produce hardware companies, not only software firms. Its factory address is A-Block, IIT Madras Research Park, Taramani, which is not open to walk-in visitors.
Quick answers
Where is Agnikul Cosmos based?
At the IIT Madras Research Park in Taramani, Chennai, where its Rocket Factory-1 is located.
Has Agnikul reached orbit?
Not yet. Its only flight so far, on 30 May 2024, was suborbital. An orbital mission, Mission 02, was being prepared in 2026 without a fixed date.
Why is the 3D-printed engine important?
Printing the engine as one piece removes welding and assembly, cutting the time and cost of making each engine.
Information checked against official sources on 18 October 2026. Fees, dates and rules can change; confirm on the linked official pages before acting.
Sources
- First private launchpad and mission control inaugurated (ISRO)
- Agnikul’s 3D-printed rocket (NITI Aayog Frontier Tech Hub)
- Agnikul carries out sub-orbital launch (Deccan Herald)
- Bharat Innovates 2026 profile (YourStory)
- TIDCO to invest Rs 25 crore each in Agnikul and Raptee (Inc42)
- Agnikul appoints S. Somanath as board observer (The Machine Maker)
- Agnikul Cosmos official website (Agnikul)
