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.