India is emerging as an increasingly attractive launch destination for global satellite companies, with space start-up Agnikul Cosmos receiving one to two launch enquiries every week, co-founder and CEO Srinath Ravichandran said.
“A large share of the enquiries is coming from international customers, as satellite operators increasingly seek dedicated launches to specific orbital parameters instead of relying solely on rideshare missions,” he said.
Launch Credibility
The trend comes as India’s track record in satellite launch services and the growing credibility of its private space sector strengthen the country’s position in the global launch market. The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) successful PSLV programme has established India as a reliable launch provider, while the opening of the sector to private players is creating a new generation of commercial launch companies.
Agnikul is now preparing to move from technology demonstration to commercial operations, with an eventual ambition to scale its launch cadence to as many as 100 missions a year. The company expects individual reusable launch vehicles to be capable of 10–12 flights, allowing the fleet to support a substantially higher annual launch rate.
The Chennai-based company is also expanding its manufacturing and testing capabilities in Tamil Nadu, including infrastructure closer to the upcoming Kulasekarapattinam spaceport. “We plan to operate from multiple launch facilities, including Sriharikota.”
Orbital Precision
For small-satellite operators, Ravichandran said, the economics of a launch cannot be assessed simply through the conventional price-per-kg metric. While rideshare missions can offer a lower launch cost per kilogram, satellites are typically deployed into a shared or predetermined orbit and may subsequently require onboard propulsion to reach their intended operational orbit.
This can add propulsion hardware, propellant and complexity to the satellite, while also consuming mass and potentially shortening the useful mission life.
A dedicated launch vehicle, therefore, can offer value by placing a payload closer to its required orbital parameters, reducing the amount of orbital manoeuvring that the satellite itself needs to undertake. For Agnikul, the proposition is consequently less about competing purely on launch price and more about providing precise orbital deployment for small satellites.
The company also expects the Indian satellite ecosystem to become a more significant contributor to its commercial launch manifest over the next two years. Following the opening up of the space sector through reforms announced in 2020–23, many Indian space-tech companies are currently progressing from technology demonstration towards commercial deployment.
Ravichandran expects this transition to become more pronounced around 2026–27, as satellite companies move beyond initial demonstrations and begin deploying larger commercial constellations and operational payloads.
Reusability could alter the cost structure
A key part of Agnikul’s longer-term strategy is reusability, which the company sees as a way to fundamentally change the cost structure of launch operations.
For an expendable rocket, a substantial portion of the manufacturing process—including raw materials and components—has to be repeated for every mission. A reusable vehicle, by contrast, shifts a greater proportion of the recurring cost towards inspection, refurbishment, testing and re-qualification between flights.
The economic benefit, therefore, comes not simply from flying the same rocket again but from replacing a significant part of the manufacturing cycle with a repeatable turnaround and certification process.
Agnikul is also manufacturing multiple launch vehicles in parallel as it prepares to increase its launch cadence. The approach is intended to avoid a model in which the company builds a single vehicle, flies it, analyses the results and only then begins production of the next vehicle.
The company’s next major milestone will be Mission 2, following its technology demonstration flight. Subject to regulatory approvals and the successful validation of its planned recovery operations, the company aims to use the experience to move towards a regular commercial launch cadence.
As India’s private space ecosystem matures, the challenge for launch companies such as Agnikul will increasingly shift from demonstrating launch capability to building the manufacturing capacity, regulatory processes and operational infrastructure required to support a high-frequency commercial launch business.