Hyderabad: The Agnibaan rocket, which recently flew from Sriharikota to space is the first rocket made by the 3D printing method globally. It is to be noted that Umamaheswari and Saraniya Periyaswamy, who were instrumental in this launch helped in significantly reducing the cost and time of future space missions.
ETV Bharat spoke to the two shining stars who told us that with the help of 3D printing, revolutionary changes have been made in fields such as medicine, construction, and fashion. "It is for this reason that The Agnikul Cosmos, which was developed under the guidance of IIT Madras, made the latest 3D Agniban rocket and successfully launched it from Sriharikota on the 30th of last month. Umamaheswari from Chennai acted as the project director," Periyaswamy said.
Umamaheswari said that these 3D-printed rockets have several advantages over conventional rockets. "A rocket that normally takes twelve weeks to build can be completed in 75 hours with this method marking an overall reduction of 60 per cent reduction in manufacturing time and cost. A semi-cryogenic engine is used in this system and instead of heavy hydrogen, liquid oxygen, and kerosene are utlised. Also, with the number of parts being reduced, the payload size can be increased,'' Umamaheswari explained
Umamaheswari earned her BTech degree in Aeronautics from Madras Institute of Technology and trained at the Defense Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL). "We had to put in efforts without thinking about the result. Such experiments cannot be conducted unless there is cent per cent accuracy in the work. I was very happy to know that our rocket had traveled 700 km and reached its destination. This experiment has motivated us to do better in the future," said Umamaheswari.
Saraniya from Port Blair acted as the vehicle director for the project. She completed her BTech in Civil Engineering from Dr BR Ambedkar Institute of Technology and then moved to Chennai. She also obtained a Master's degree in Ocean Technology from IIT-Madras. Although she had no experience in the space sector, she began her career as a systems engineer at the Agnikul Cosmos with her engineering skills.
''We had limited resources and budget with a very tight time span. That was a big challenge for us. I enjoyed the success only after knowing that the rocket had reached the target from the mission control room. It is good news that young girls are showing interest in space experiments now," she added.
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