India’s space startup Agnikul Cosmos had to cancel the test flight of its first rocket again. It is the fourth demolition in just three months.
The Indian space start-up Agnikul Cosmos had to abort the test flight of its first rocket seconds before launch on Tuesday, according to the news agency Reuters. This is the fourth such abort in the last three months.
Planned launches of India’s second private rocket had to be canceled three times due to technical problems. Agnikul Cosmos is the first to use a combination of gas and liquid fuel for its rocket.
This time a technical glitch occurred less than six minutes before takeoff. Officials then set a new start time.
However, the next attempt also failed. Officials had to stop again just five seconds before lift-off to check the performance of the detonator. Ultimately, the entire campaign was canceled completely.
The mission was designed to last two minutes and test the new “semi-cryogenic” engine as well as 3D printed parts, according to Reuters. Had the test flight been successful, it would have been a significant technological step for India.
So far, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has not successfully launched a semi-cryogenic engine that uses a mixture of liquid and gas as fuel.
Agnikul Cosmos’ Agnibaan rocket is an adaptable, two-stage launch vehicle capable of carrying up to 300 kg of payload to orbits of approximately 700 km altitude, the company said. For comparison: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy can carry up to 63,500 kg into low-Earth orbit.
India’s first privately developed rocket comes from the company Skyroot and was launched in 2022 from an Indian Space Research Organization launch site.
Agnikul, founded in 2017 and whose name is derived from the Hindi and Sanskrit word for fire, operates India’s first private launch and mission control center.