New Delhi: The government on Friday said it has signed an agreement with Agnikul Cosmos for Rs 200 crore financial support under the Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund, as the country moves towards building a new generation of indigenous and reusable space transportation systems.
The Technology Development Board (TDB), Department of Science & Technology (DST), singed the agreement. The project focuses on the development of a reusable launch vehicle – Agnibaan RLV — with the objective of taking the technology from TRL-4 and above to TRL-8.
The project seeks to move beyond the conventional approach of recovering only the first stage of a launch vehicle and work towards full-system reusability.
The proposed architecture is designed to enable high-frequency and repeatable launches while reducing launch and manufacturing costs and limiting the generation of space debris.
“The next phase of India’s space journey will require technologies that not only reach orbit but can do so with greater frequency, flexibility and efficiency. Reusability is an important technology frontier in this regard. Through the RDI Fund, TDB is supporting the development of ambitious indigenous technologies that require sustained investment to progress from advanced technology stages towards deployment,” said Rajesh Kumar Pathak, Secretary, TDB.
The ‘Agnibaan RLV’ programme reflects this approach by focusing on the development of a reusable launch architecture and strengthening India’s capabilities in advanced space transportation systems, Pathak added.
Agnikul has already demonstrated several elements of the technology through its development and testing programmes.
The company’s earlier work includes the development of Agnibaan, its indigenous orbital-class launch vehicle, and the Agnilet engine, a single-piece 3D-printed rocket engine developed and manufactured in-house.
TDB had earlier supported Agnikul’s development and commercialisation of a modular configurable launch vehicle for small satellite missions.
“Reusability requires the integration of propulsion, vehicle design, guidance, recovery and mission operations into a highly reliable system. TDB providing support for this is unique and special for us as it shows that the government is willing to back original technology development in India,” said promoters of Agnikul Cosmos in a statement.
(IANS)
