Sriharikota gets India’s first private space launchpad
- India’s first ever launchpad for a private launch vehicle was established at Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
- The launch pad was established by Agnikul, the Chennai headquartered space tech start-up.
- The facility, which was designed by Agnikul and executed with the support of ISRO and Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN SPACe), has two sections: the Agnikul launchpad and the Agnikul mission control Center.
Note
- Agnibaan is Agnikul’s highly customizable, two stage launch vehicle, capable of carrying up to 100 kg in payload to orbits 700 km high.
- Agnilet is the world’s first single piece 3D printed engine, fully designed and manufactured in India.
- Its successful test firing in early 2021 made Agnikul, the first company in the country to test its engines at ISRO.
- Agnibaan and Agnilet will be used in the Agnikul’s first launch.
IIT Madras racing team develops electric racing car
- The student formula racing team of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has developed its first electric racing car.
- The new electric car, RF23, is expected to offer a significant upgrade in terms of speed and lap time as compared to the internal combustion (IC) engine-based previous model.
- The e-racing car is expected to take off in January 2023 at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
- The IIT Madras team is planning to develop a driverless race car by 2025 and participate in the ‘driverless category’ of Formula Student racing events.
