Indian firm test fires 3-D printed cryogenic engine; spacefaring rocket launch by 2023 end

Skyroot Aerospace, the Indian firm that launched the country's first privately-built rocket has now announced a new milestone - the test firing of a 3-D printed Cryogenic Engine for a duration of 200 seconds. Cryogenic engines are among the most sophisticated engineering feats in rocketry and only a few nations and private firms possess this technology.

Cryogenic engines are highly-efficient and powerful and enable rockets to carry heavier payloads to space. WION spoke to Pawan K Chandana, Co-Founder, Skyroot Aerospace to understand the significance of the test.

Also Read | ChatGPT can propel four-day work-week? Here's what Nobel Prize-winning economist says

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Cryogenic engines are powered by super-cooled fuels, that are stored at temperatures below -150 degrees centigrade. The most common cryogenic fuel combination is liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. However, Skyroot's latest engine known as 'Dhawan-II' is powered by Liquified Natural Gas(comprising more than 90%methane) and Liquid oxygen.

The engine has been named so, as a tribute to Prof. Satish Dhawan, an pioneer who made great contributions to India's space programme.

Also Read | North Korea says US-South Korea drills driving tensions in Korean Peninsula to 'brink of nuclear war'

Queried about the rationale behind going for a Methane-Liquid oxygen fuel combination, Pawan explained to WION that using alternative cryogenic or semi-cryogenic fuels such as liquid hydrogen or kerosene had certain limitations. "Liquid hydrogen is a very complex fuel to store and handle.

It is also highly explosive in nature and it is expensive as well. Kerosene is not a clean burning fuel like methane and leaves behind carbon soot deposits" he said.

In November 2022, Skyroot had launched 'Vikram-S', an upper-atmospheric research rocket. However, this doesn't qualify as a spacefaring rocket. It is to develop their own spacefaring rockets that the firm has been developing and testing engines such as 'Dhawan-II'.

The firm is developing two spacefaring rockets Vikram-1 and Vikram-2, both of which are four-stage rockets, with three solid-fuel stages and a liquid-fuelled upper stage. While Vikram-1 uses earth-storable fuels in its upper stage, Vikram-2 will be using a cryogenic upper stage, thus helping it carry more payloads to space.

Watch | Gravitas: Is India emerging as a space leader?

"Vikram-1 is meant to carry 290kg to low earth orbit, whereas Vikram-2 with its Cryogenic(methane-liquid oxygen) engine can carry upto 400kg to the same orbit. This new engine offers a 40percent increase in payload carrying" Pawan said.

He also explained that methane was the most preferred fuel choice, as it was denser than hydrogen and could be stored in smaller tanks. He added that burning of methane released very less carbon and that it is even possible to generate green methane from renewable energy.

Having methane-powered engines given the firm confidence to test and build re-usable rockets as well.

According to the firm, the 'Dhawan-II' cryogenic engine delivers a thrust of 3.5 Kilo Newton, a significant upgrade over the 1.0 Kilo Newton thrust 'Dhawan-I' cryogenic engine that they had test fired in 2021. The firm is looking to launch their maiden spacefaring rocket Vikram-1, by the end of 2023, Pawan told WION.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.