Former ISRO chief S Somanath joins Agnikul board as startup prepares reusable rocket mission

Chennai-based spacetech startup Agnikul Cosmos has appointed former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman Dr S Somanath as an observer on its board ahead of Mission 02, a flight that aims to test two technologies that could shape the future of Indian launch services. The company said Mission 02 will attempt India’s first recovery of an orbital-class rocket booster while also demonstrating an upper stage that remains operational in orbit instead of being discarded after deploying a s