Agnikul Cosmos Launches India's First Private Launchpad In ISRO Campus At Sriharikota

The new facility at Sriharikota has a launchpad and a mission control centre. Agnikul Cosmos, a private aerospace manufacturer, has designed the launchpad, and will operate it. 

Indian space-tech firm Agnikul Cosmos has launched the country's first private launchpad and mission control centre inside the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO's) campus at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. Agnikul Cosmos, a private aerospace manufacturer, has designed the launchpad, and will operate it. 

S Somanath, the chairman of ISRO, inaugurated the launchpad and mission control centre on November 25, 2022. According to a statement released by ISRO, Somanath expressed pleasure over the establishment of the first private launchpad in India. He said that India can now travel to space from one more space platform. Other notable persons who attended the inaugural ceremony include directors of various ISRO centres and key members of Agnikul Cosmos. 

Srinath Ravichandran, co-founder and CEO of Agnikul Cosmos, said the ability to launch from one's own launchpad while still working with ISRO's launch operations team is a privilege that ISRO and INSPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre) have granted. 

Moin SPM, co-founder of Agnikul Cosmos, also expressed his gratitude to ISRO and INSPACe for their consistent support for establishing Agnikul's launchpad inside Sriharikota. He added that the new reforms brought by the Department of Space truly accommodate everyone's dream of going to space. 

What is the purpose of the new facility?

Agnikul Cosmos establishing India's first private launchpad marks a significant step in opening the Indian space sector to private players. The facility has a launchpad and a mission control centre, the latter being four kilometres away from the launchpad. 

The system can support liquid stage-controlled launches, monitor key flight safety parameters by ISRO's range operations teams during launches, and share the data with ISRO's mission control centre, according to ISRO. 

Agnikul Cosmos plans to guide and control its upcoming launches from the new facility. In its first commercial launch, Agnikul Cosmos will send Agnibaanis to space, a two-stage launch vehicle. The rocket can carry payloads of up to 100 kilograms to an altitude of about 700 kilometres.