Chennai-based space tech startup Agnikul said it has been awarded an Indian patent for the design and manufacturing of its single-piece rocket engine Agnilet. Agnilet is a single-piece 3D-printed rocket engine designed and manufactured in India after being test-fired in early 2021.
Agnilet has just one hardware
The company said Agnilet has just one hardware, with no assembled parts. Agnikul showcased the single-piece rocket at the International Aeronautical Congress last year.
Elaborating on their achievement, Srinath Ravichandran, co-founder & CEO, of Agnikul said, “Rocket engines usually have thousands of parts in them – starting from injectors that inject fuel into the engine, to the cooling channels that cool the engine, to the igniter that is necessary to ignite the propellants. Designing Agnilet as a single piece of hardware has not been an easy ride, but our team has proved it to be otherwise”. He also thanked their mentors from the aerospace industry, academia, and the ISRO.
More about Agnikul
Agnikul was the first IIT-M incubated startup to sign a deal with ISRO to utilize the space organization’s facilities as a test bed. Agnikul has raised over $15 million from Mayfield India, pi Ventures, Speciale Invest, and prominent angel investors, including Anand Mahindra and Naval Ravikant. Recently, Agnikul announced its rocket facility at the IIT Madras Research Park dedicated to 3D printing rocket engines in mass production.
