Business Desk, ETV Bharat: Hyderabad-based start-up Skyroot Aerospace on Friday unveiled India’s first cryogenic rocket engine that runs on LNG fuel.
Being launched on the occasion of the birth anniversary of eminent Indian rocket scientist Dr Satish Dhawan, the rocket engine has been named Dhawan-I by the company.
Skyroot Aerospace said ‘Dhawan-I’ is India’s first privately developed cryogenic rocket engine running on high performance fully cryogenic rocket propellants -- Liquid Natural gas (LNG) and Liquid Oxygen (LoX).
“It is 100% 3D printed, uses 100% cryogenic propellants and is 100% Made in India,” the company said in a statement.
Talking to ETV Bharat, Skyroot Aerospace co-founder and CEO Pawan Kumar Chandana said: “LNG is clean burning, low cost, highly reusable and safe cryogenic fuel which is also ideal for longer duration deep space missions carrying satellites or humans – perfectly aligned with the long-term vision of Skyroot.”
He added: “We have successfully completed many tests to check the fuel flow and structural integrity. We are building a dedicated test facility for hot fire testing of this engine.”
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Founded by former scientists of the Indian Space Research organization (ISRO), Skyroot has been building India’s first privately built space launch vehicles. The company’s ‘Vikram’ series of launch vehicles have been in development for the past two years.
The company is targeting a December 2021 launch for its first vehicle Vikram-I. Though Dhawan-I will only be used for propulsion technology for Vikram-2’s upper stage, the company said.
Last month, the start-up had successfully test-fired upper-stage rocket engine named ‘Raman’, becoming the first Indian private firm to demonstrate the capability to build a homegrown rocket engine.
The company is the first successful example of India’s opening up the space sector for private investment. In June this year, the Indian cabinet had allowed private firms to use the facilities and infrastructure at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as a means to provide a “level playing field for satellites, launches, and space-based services.”
