Indian private rocket manufacturer Skyroot Aerospace this week announced a successful test firing of its 3D printed cryogenic engine, Dhawan-II, for 200 seconds. The test, carried out at Solar Industries propulsion facility in Nagpur, Maharashtra, utilized Skyroot’s indigenously developed mobile cryogenic engine test pad, and the engine used LNG (liquified natural gas) as a propellant.
Green Propellant
This news follows the November 2022 launch of Vikram-S, which marked Skyroot as the first Indian private company to send a rocket into space. Pawan Kumar Chandana, Skyroot Aerospace’s Co-founder and CEO, expressed pride in the company’s achievements and its position at the forefront of the Indian private space sector, pushing boundaries with advanced technologies like 3D printing and “green” propellants.
Excited to announce the triumphant 200-second fire-endurance test of our enhanced, fully 3D-printed 'Dhawan-II' Cryogenic engine that will power the upper stage of Vikram-2.
This is a major milestone for our cryogenic program, fuelling the accelerated development of Vikram… pic.twitter.com/LmZOAVqOXQ
— Skyroot Aerospace (@SkyrootA) April 4, 2023
Just to clarify, in rocket terms, a “green” propellant isn’t necessarily one that is “good” for the environment, it just means it’s a propellant that has low toxicity, and is safer to handle than something like hydrazine fuel, which will burn the skin and pretty much kill you (horrifically).
The Dhawan-II engine builds upon the foundation of Skyroot’s first privately developed fully-cryogenic rocket engine, the 1.0 kN thrust Dhawan-I, which was successfully test-fired in November 2021. The cryogenic engine series honors Dr. Satish Dhawan, a prominent Indian rocket scientist who significantly contributed to the Indian Space Programme.
Increased Capacity
Naga Bharath Daka, co-founder and COO of Skyroot Aerospace, stated that this milestone would improve the payload capacity of the Vikram series of space launch vehicles, making them more modular and adaptable to diverse customer needs.
Veteran rocket engineer V. Gnanagandhi, who leads liquid and cryogenic propulsion at Skyroot Aerospace, expressed encouragement at the 200 seconds of stable combustion achieved during the test.
“Our 3D printed Dhawan-II engine also uses a 3D printed torch igniter and a bellow[s] actuated cryo-injection valve with quick response time,” added Gnanagandhi.
“It is a remarkable achievement by our team, and we could get valuable data for next-generation cryogenic engine technology with LNG as fuel.”
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