On September 30, 2020, Indian Aerospace Startup AgniKul Cosmos signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Alaska Aerospace Corporation to test launch Indian made Agnibaan Rocket from Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska (PSCA) on Kodiak Island in the United States.
Key Points:
i.As part of the MoU, Alaska Aerospace and AgniKul will work to gain regulatory approvals such as US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launch licensing, US export control. It will also work to comply with exports laws and regulations in India.
ii.The MoU aims to define Launch Vehicle-Spaceport Interfaces, related procedures and conduct at least one launch from PSCA.
iii.The partnership is one-of-its kind, as an Indian company is collaborating with Global Space Port for its launch.
iv.In July, 2020 Agnikul signed MoU with Italy based company Leaf Space for ground station services.
Agnibaan:
i.Agnibaan is a small satellite rocket, which is capable of carrying up to 100 Kilograms of payload to low Earth Orbits up to 700 kms.
ii.The Debut launch of ‘Agnibaan’ is expected to take place in 2022.
AgniKul Cosmos:
i.It is an India-based start-up incubated at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras.
ii.It helps in designing and launching orbit-class rockets for micro and nanosatellites.
Recent Related News:
i.Skyroot Aerospace, Indian aerospace startup successfully test fired an upper stage rocket engine “Raman”, which is India’s first 100% 3D printed bi-propellant liquid rocket engine injector.
ii.NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley docked the SpaceX “Dragon” spacecraft with the International Space Station(ISS) on 31st May 2020
About AgniKul Cosmos:
Co-Founders – Srinath Ravichandran, Moin SPM
Location – Chennai, Tamil Nadu
