It was for the first time that a rocket was launched from a private launchpad, Agnikul’s Dhanush, located within ISRO‘s Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, he said.
The space regulator chief said it was for the first time in the world that a single-piece, 3D printed semi-cryogenic engine designed and developed by Agnikul was used to propel a launch vehicle.
He said it was also for the first time a semi-cryogenic engine was used to power a launch vehicle, a feat which even ISRO is yet to achieve.
He also said the successful launch of Agnibaan brought India a step closer to having a significant capacity and capability to launch small satellites.
“We already have Skyroot that has done their sub-orbital launch in November 2022. We also have the small satellite launch vehicle from ISRO which will soon be owned by a private sector company,” Goenka said. Skyroot’s sub-orbital test flight of Vikram-S rocket and Agnibaan SOrTeD were precursors to the launch vehicles planned by the two start-ups. Goenka said small satellite launch vehicles have a shorter turnaround time enabling putting satellites into orbit at a short notice and at a fraction of the cost entailed in opting for heavier rockets that ferry multiple spacecraft in a single launch.
“You can book the whole vehicle and therefore you control your own destiny as a user. And it can be launched very quickly from the time that you put in the order,” he said.
“So, that is the advantage that you get from a small launch vehicle and that is the reason it will become preferable for small payloads,” he added.
The decadal vision for the space sector in India, unveiled by IN-SPACe, aims to make the country a hub for launch of small satellites with three launch vehicles owned and operated by the private sector from a dedicated space port at Kulasekharipatanam in Tamil Nadu.
At present, the Indian space economy is valued at around USD 8 billion with a two per cent share in the global space economy with a potential to reach USD 44 billion by 2033.
“We are aspiring to get to $44 billion and in fact, a lot of work is happening on that front,” Goenka said.
Recently, the government unveiled the Space Policy and liberalised the norms for foreign direct investment in the space sector, while IN-SPACe released the norms to implement the space policy.