CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -For Agnikul Cosmos, a Chennai-based space tech startup incubated at IIT-Madras, 2022 was a year full of standout landmarks. In July, Agnikul launched India’s first-ever factory capable of manufacturing 3D-printed rockets called Agnibaan that can carry up to 100 kg of payload to low Earth orbits up to 700 km.

Detailed explanation-2: -Chennai-based space tech startup Agnikul Cosmos has launched India’s first private launchpad and mission control centre at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota. The facility was inaugurated by ISRO chairman S Somanath on November 28.

Detailed explanation-3: -Space tech startup Agnikul opens India’s first rocket engine factory in Chennai.

Detailed explanation-4: -While Skyroot became the first startup to launch a private rocket from India, Agnikul is expected to soon launch India’s first private spaceflight that reaches the orbit (Skyroot’s launch was sub-orbital, meaning that while it flew to space, it did not reach the Earth’s orbit).

Detailed explanation-5: -The initials Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai, i.e., a portmanteau of Vikas Engine is a liquid-propellant rocket engine family designed by the Center for Liquid Propulsion Systems in the 1970s.