Agnikul Cosmos opens two units, scales infra for reusable rockets

Image: X@AgnikulCosmos Shine Jacob Bengaluru 3 min read Last Updated : Sep 08 2026 | 12:11 AM IST Space startup Agnikul Cosmos has inaugurated two new units at its assembly and testing facility in Chennai, expanding its capabilities to test reusable rocket stages under flight-like conditions and manufacture critical launch vehicle components in-house. This positions Agnikul among a small set of global companies working towards full-stack reusable launch capability and the only Indian private space company with in-house post-flight requalification infrastructure. The stage testing and inspection facility (STIF) and the Pressurant Tank Realization, Over-wrapping and Outfitting Facility (PROOF), were inaugurated in the presence of Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, Gaganyaan astronaut. 'The vision of bringing reusability to launch requires us to think beyond a single flight and build the capability to test, recover, inspect and prepare a stage for its next flight. STIF gives us the ability to test complete stages for the duration of their mission and inspect and requalify recovered stages. This is animportant capability as we work towards Mission-02. PROOF takes us another step towards end-to-end in-house quality control. Having Group Captain Shukla, who has flown to space, inaugurate these facilities is a dream come true for all of us at Agnikul,' said Srinath Ravichandran, cofounder and chief executive officer, Agnikul Cosmos. STIF is a fully in-house designed and fabricated facility for testing reusable rocket stages under flight-like operating conditions. It enables full-stage testing with propulsion and avionics integrated, including clusters of Agnikul's patented, single-piece, semi-cryogenic, electricpump-fed 3D-printed engines. 'India's space programme is entering an exciting phase, with capabilities being built across the country that will enable increasingly ambitious missions,' Shukla said. Critically, the facility also supports post-flightinspection and requalification of recovered stages. STIF provides the infrastructure to develop arepeatable build, test, fly, recover, inspect, requalify and fly-again cycle for reusable launch vehicles - anessential capability for building a truly reusable launch system.PROOF brings the manufacture of high-pressure composite overwrapped pressure vessels in-house. It can produce more than 10 vessels a month, including vessels of up to 3,500 litres and 350 bar. Bybringing vessel manufacturing in-house, Agnikul gains greater control over the complete manufacturingprocess, while reducing external dependencies and enabling faster iteration and production turnaround.Together, the facilities expand Agnikul's vertically integrated launch vehicle capabilities, from propulsionand avionics development to component manufacturing, stage testing and recovery operations. 'STIF and PROOF bring critical capabilities for our vehicle recovery and manufacturing operationsin-house. The ability to manufacture high-pressure composite overwrapped vessels at production scalegives us greater control over the process, quality and turnaround time. This capability, along with the stage-level testing facility, will be important as we expand our manufacturing capacity and build towards a higher launch cadence,' said Moin SPM, Co-founder and COO, Agnikul Cosmos. The new facilities add to Agnikul's growing in-house manufacturing, testing and launch infrastructure.The company already designs and manufactures its single-piece, 3D-printed semi-cryogenic engines in-house, alongside developing its avionics and other propulsion and vehicle systems. Agnikul's Mission-01, launched on 30 May 2024, successfully demonstrated a controlled ascent using its single-piece 3D-printed engine and in-house autopilot architecture.With STIF and PROOF, Agnikul is extending this in-house approach from individual propulsion and vehicle components to stage testing, recovery assessment and critical composite overwrapped vessel manufacturing.