A space-tech startup headquartered in Chennai, India, successfully test-fired the world’s single-piece 3D-printed engine.
Agnikul Cosmos on Tuesday said that Agnilet was test-fired at the Vertical Test Facility, Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS), at Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram. ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) and IN-SPACe, a nodal agency for promoting and regulating space players, supported the test.
Founded in 2017 by Srinath Ravichandran, Moin SPM, and Professor S.R. Chakravarthy, Agnikul is on a mission to make space accessible and affordable. The test was conducted to verify that rocket engines can be made as a single piece of hardware.
Agnilet is claimed to be the world’s first single-piece 3D-printed rocket engine fully designed and manufactured in India. It was first successfully test-fired at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in 2021. The latest test has validated the startup’s design and manufacturing methodology, for which it has received a patent. According to the startup, it is a significant milestone for 3D printing in India.