Agnikul Cosmos, an Indian space startup, has achieved a breakthrough by successfully testing ‘Agnite’, a 3D-printed rocket engine that promises faster production and enhanced control for future space missions.
Photograph: Kind courtesy AgniKul Cosmos
Key Points
- Agnikul Cosmos successfully tested ‘Agnite’, a 3D-printed rocket booster engine, significantly reducing production time.
- The ‘Agnite’ engine features a single-piece architecture, printed in a week, unlike traditional engines that take months to manufacture.
- ‘Agnite’ uses electric motor-driven pumps for fuel delivery, offering precise control over engine output.
- The engine is made of inconel, a superalloy that withstands high temperatures, crucial for rocket engine performance.
- Agnikul Cosmos plans to establish a production line to build more 3D-printed rocket engines following the successful test.
Chennai-based space start-up Agnikul Cosmos on Wednesday announced that it has successfully tested its 3D-printed booster engine, ‘Agnite’, which can reduce production complexity and turnaround time for missions.
The engine, which is a single-piece architecture, can be fully printed within a week, unlike traditional booster engines that comprise thousands of parts and can take months to manufacture.
In an interview with PTI, Srinath Ravichandran, co-founder and CEO of Agnikul Cosmos, said, “Agnite is a metre in height, proving that 3D-printing is no longer only for small components. It also demonstrates that large 3D-printed components can function in the harsh, high-temperature environment of a rocket engine. As a result, this success allows us to consider 3D-printing other large rocket components.”
Key Features of the Agnite Engine
Booster engines are typically attached to the first stage of the rocket and used to provide extra thrust to lift the upper stage to a particular point.
Another unique feature of Agnite is that it uses electric motor-driven pumps instead of the conventional gas generators.
“Pumps here are the systems that develop pressure to push fuel into the engine. Conventional gas generator pumps use hot gases to rotate a turbo pump. However, we use a battery pack and an electric motor. As it is an electric motor, the speed is extremely controllable through electronics and in-house algorithms,” said Ravichandran.
“By precisely controlling the speed of the pump, we can precisely control the output of the engine,” he added.
Material and Future Plans
Agnite is made of a material called inconel, which is a superalloy composed mainly of nickel, chromium, and iron.
It can withstand much higher temperatures than most materials, which typically lose strength when heated, according to Ravichandran.
With the successful testing of Agnite, the company will now focus on building more such engines by setting up a production line.
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