New Delhi | 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." 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.

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.