In a surprising turn of events, Chennai-based space start-up Agnikul Cosmos was forced to postpone the highly anticipated maiden test launch of its Agnibaan SOrTeD (Suborbital Tech Demonstrator) mission, marking the third delay since its initial schedule on Sunday.
The launch, which was set to take place from India's first private launchpad, ALP-01, at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, encountered an unforeseen technical hiccup that led to its cancellation just 92 seconds before the planned lift-off.
The test launch was initially scheduled to take place on Saturday but it was postponed to Sunday due to technical issues. Last month, too, Agnikul delayed the Agnibaan launch without giving a clear reason.
The Agnibaan rocket, being hailed as the world's first with a 3D-printed, semi-cryogenic engine, encountered an issue with its Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and internal navigation system, sources told IndiaToday.in, adding that the two failed to synchronise in the final moments leading up to the launch.
"Had to call off today’s launch attempt of Agnibaan SOrTeD just a second into Automated Launch Sequence (ALS) initiation (at T-129 seconds) because of a communication issue between 2 of our onboard hardware. Although it is frustrating to see a HOLD this close to lift off, we are glad that our ALS did its job. We’ll get to the root cause and come back for launch after fixing the cause," Agnikul later said in an update.
This setback comes despite Agnikul's rigorous preparation, including the implementation of the first-ever ethernet-based avionics architecture and fully in-house developed autopilot software in India.
As Agnikul aims to conduct India's second private rocket launch, following Skyroot Aerospace's successful launch in November 2022, this postponement points to the challenges that come with developing and testing a rocket engine.
