Launch · Government, Defense & Space

Agnikul opens two new facilities in Chennai

By Startup Enthusiast · 8 September 2026

What they do

Agnikul Cosmos builds small-lift rockets with 3D-printed engines

It opened STIF for testing reusable stages and PROOF for making pressure vessels

The facilities support its goal of reusable rockets and higher launch cadence

Agnikul Cosmos opened two new facilities at its Chennai Assembly & Testing Facility: STIF and PROOF.
The facilities were inaugurated by Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, a Gaganyaan astronaut.
STIF is an in-house designed and built facility for testing reusable rocket stages under flight-like conditions.
STIF can test full stages with integrated propulsion and avionics, including clusters of Agnikul's patented single-piece semi-cryogenic electric pump-fed 3D-printed engines.
STIF supports thrust levels from 1 kN to 200 kN, LOX sub-cooling down to 73 K, and full-duration burns up to 150 seconds.
STIF enables post-flight inspection and requalification of recovered rocket stages, supporting a repeatable build-test-launch-recover cycle.
PROOF is an in-house manufacturing facility for high-pressure composite overwrapped pressure vessels.
PROOF has a production capacity of more than 10 vessels per month, can manufacture vessels up to 3,500 litres capacity with pressure ratings up to 350 bar.

Agnikul is the only Indian private space company with in-house post-flight requalification infrastructure.
It is among a small set of global companies working towards full-stack reusable launch capability.
In-house vessel manufacturing gives Agnikul greater control over production, quality, turnaround time, and reduces external supplier dependence.
The new facilities expand Agnikul's vertically integrated capabilities: propulsion and avionics development, component manufacturing, stage testing, and recovery operations.

Agnikul Cosmos designs and manufactures single-piece 3D-printed semi-cryogenic engines in-house.
It develops its avionics and other propulsion and vehicle systems in-house.
The company is developing the Agnibaan family of configurable small-lift launch vehicles.
Agnikul's Mission-01 (Agnibaan SOrTeD) was conducted on 30 May 2024 from India's first private launchpad at Sriharikota.
Mission-01 demonstrated controlled ascent using a single-piece 3D-printed engine and in-house autopilot architecture.
The company is headquartered in Chennai and was incubated at IIT Madras.

The new facilities support Agnikul's preparations for Mission-02 and a higher launch cadence.

Product: Reusable small-satellite launch vehicles and related launch infrastructure.
Customers: Satellite operators and space customers that need launch access.
How it makes money: Launch services and related aerospace engineering contracts.
What sets it apart: It is focused on recoverable rocket stages and reusable launch architecture.
Operations: It is expanding testing and manufacturing facilities in Chennai.