Agnibaan SOrTeD

Indian sub-orbital sounding rocket, developed by Agnikul Cosmos

Agnibaan-SORTEDFunction| Sounding Rocket

|

Manufacturer| AgniKul Cosmos
Country of origin| India
Size
Height| 6.2 m
Mass| 575 kg
Stages| 1
Associated rockets
Based on| Agnibaan
Launch history
Status| Active
First flight| 30 May 2024
First stage
Engines| 1x Agnilet engine
Burn time| 70 seconds
Propellant| LOX and Aviation Turbine Fuel

[edit on Wikidata]

Agnibaan SOrTeD (short form of SubOrbital Technological Demonstrator)[1] is a suborbital test-flight of the Agnibaan launch vehicle, manufactured by Indian space startup Agnikul Cosmos.[2][3][4][5]

## Description[edit]

The SOrTeD mission is a single-stage launch vehicle demonstration that is powered by a semi-cryogenic engine called the Agnilet. The test flight lasted just over two minutes The 6.2 meter-tall vehicle has an elliptical nose cone at the top to protect the package from harsh conditions during the flight.[6]

Unlike traditional sounding rockets that typically launch from guide rails, Agnibaan SOrTeD lifts off vertically and follows a predetermined trajectory while executing a precisely coordinated series of maneuvers during flight. This innovative approach sets Agnibaan apart and highlights the advanced technology and capabilities employed by Agnikul Cosmos for its maiden sub-orbital flight.[7][8]

For flight Control The vehicle is equipped with four carbon composite fins to provide passive control. Agnikul has said that the active pitch and yaw control is achieved through two-plane gimballing, and together, these systems enable controlled vertical ascent.The company has integrated Agnibaan SOrTeD with the flight termination system developed by ISRO.[6]

The mission successfully lifted off on 30 May 2024 from India's first private launchpad, located close to ISRO facilities near SDSC. Agnikul has received authorization to establish a unique launch pad near the sea on Sriharikota island, alongside its dedicated control room. The pad has received the name Dhanush (Devanagari: धनुष) and referred as ALP-01.[9][7] Agnikul is the second Indian private spaceflight company to test it's orbital launch system, following Skyroot Aerospace, who launched their Vikram-S rocket.[10][11]

The 580 kilogram rocket, lifted off from Sriharikota and in the first flight, it travelled as high as 20 kilometers above the Earth, before plunging down into the Bay of Bengal and may carry upto 7 kg of payloads.[9][7] The data that it provides helped engineers fine-tune and shape the development of the Agnibaan launch vehicle.[6]It was initially planned to launch at 01:30 UTC on 22 March 2024 but was postponed.[12]

## Mission History[edit]

On 21st March 2024, a day before launch, the official handle for Agnikul Cosmos posted on X that they deferred the launch based on certain minor observations they observed from the full countdown rehearsals the previous night.[13] Agnikul Cosmos has not yet indicated a revised schedule for the flight. The pre-launch procedures begin ten hours before liftoff, with the filling of the fuel tanks, deployment of balloons for assessing winds at various altitudes, uploading the programme to the flight computer and getting a final clearance from the launch directors.[14][15][16][17][12]The company postponed another test on 6th April 2024 while conducting pre-launch checks.[18]Another launch attempt on 28th May 2024, was also called off, less than a minute before lift-off.[19]

## Flight description[edit]

Following lift-off, the vehicle performed a pitch-over manoeuvre nearly four seconds into flight. This manoeuvre involves the controlled rotation of the vehicle to change its orientation from vertical to a predetermined angle with respect to the ground or its flight path.[6]

The vehicle then went into the wind biasing manoeuvre at just over 39 seconds, which is introduced in rockets to compensate for the effects of wind on the trajectory of the rocket during ascent. At about 1 minute and 29 seconds into the flight, the rocket reached apogee, the point at which it is farthest from the launch site, before it splashes down at just over two minutes into flight, marking the completion of the mission.[6]

## See also[edit]

* India portal
* Space portal

* Space industry of India

### Rockets with similar role[edit]

* SLV-3
* Vikram-S
* Electron

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Agnikul". agnikul.in. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
2. ^ "What is Agnibaan? The new private rocket set to be tested by Agnikul". India Today. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
3. ^ "In the year of Gaganyaan, private space sector too set to make a big splash". The Indian Express. 2024-03-10. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
4. ^ Nigam, Saumya (2024-03-10). "Agnikul set to conduct sub-orbital mission by end of March | News – India TV". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
5. ^ "Indian private rocket company Agnikul plans to launch sub-orbital mission by March-end". Business Today (in Hindi). 2024-03-09. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
6. ^ a b c d e "How Agnikul's two-minute-long mission could give India a new launch vehicle". India Today. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
7. ^ a b c "Indian space startup gears up for ambitious rocket launch: Key things to know". Moneycontrol. 2024-03-20. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
8. ^ "Agnikul Cosmos to launch rocket from own launchpad". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
9. ^ a b "Space Startup Agnikul Ready For Its Sub-Orbital Rocket Launch On Friday". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
10. ^ Kandavel, Sangeetha (2024-03-19). "Tamil Nadu creates history with India's second privately developed rocket". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
11. ^ "Agnikul Cosmos to conduct maiden test launch of Agnibaan on Friday". India Today. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
12. ^ a b "Agnibaan Mission Postponed! India's Second Privately Developed Rocket Faces Technical Snag". TimesNow. 2024-03-21. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
13. ^ https://twitter.com/AgnikulCosmos/status/1770738814639608168?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^tweet
14. ^ "Agnikul Cosmos defers launch of Agnibaan 3D printed rocket". News9live. 2024-03-21. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
15. ^ "Launch of first 3D printed satellite by Agnikul Cosmos cancelled". Moneycontrol. 2024-03-21. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
16. ^ "AgniKul Cosmos postpones maiden rocket launch due to 'technical issue'". Zee Business. 2024-03-21. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
17. ^ "Agnikul's maiden test launch of Agnibaan Sorted mission postponed". India Today. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
18. ^ Reuters; ThePrint (2024-04-06). "India's space startup Agnikul delays maiden rocket launch again". ThePrint. Retrieved 2024-04-06. `{{cite web}}`: `|last=` has generic name (help)
19. ^ "Chennai Start-Up's Rocket Launch, Game-Changer For Space Tech, Called Off". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2024-05-28.

This article needs additional or more specific categories. Please help out by adding categories to it so that it can be listed with similar articles. (May 2024)

|