Anand Mahindra, the chairman of Mahindra Group, has backed Angikul Cosmos, a space-tech start-up, which test-fired India’s first 3D printed rocket engine — Agnilet — a few days ago.

Mahindra tweeted on Wednesday: “AGNIKUL is a startup that will build launch vehicles to carry micro/nano satellites to low earth orbit on demand. They recently test-fired a fully 3D printed semi cryo rocket engine at IIT Madras. Terrific champions of the future. I’ve personally invested in the company (sic)”

AGNIKUL is a startup that will build launch vehicles to carry micro/nano satellites to low earth orbit on demand. They recently test-fired a fully 3D printed semi cryo rocket engine at IIT Madras. Terrific champions of the future. I’ve personally invested in the company pic.twitter.com/njW1Gld1wa

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) February 10, 2021

Unlike conventional rocket engines that have numerous moving parts, Agnilet is just one piece of hardware from start to finish and has zero assembled parts, said a tweet on the company’s official handle. This makes the rocket engine lighter. The complete engine was 3D printed and the turnaround time was less than four days.

Humbled to announce firing of fully #MadeinIndia Agnilet - a 100% 3d printed, 1 piece semicryo rocket engine. Compared to older firings this is new:has 0 assembly involved->the entire engine is 1 part. Grateful to @isro for continued support. @narendramodi https://t.co/V7EiiNl5Cn

— AgniKul Cosmos (@AgnikulCosmos) February 9, 2021

The space-tech start-up was incubated at IIT Madras and is building a small rocket that can launch 100-kg satellites into low Earth orbit. The rocket can be ported on a mobile platform and Agnikul is looking at launching it by the end of 2022.

The start-up was launched by entrepreneurs Srinath Ravichandran and Moin SPM in 2017. Last December, the start-up signed a pact with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to tap into the space agency’s expertise as well as facilities to build its rocket.

It became the first space start-up to sign such a pact with ISRO, as part of the new space reforms announced in 2020 which allows private players to work with the national space agency and further develop the Indian space sector.

(Edited by : Jomy)

First Published:Feb 10, 2021 7:13 PM IST