Skyroot Aerospace unveils cryogenic engine Dhawan-1 on Satish Dhawan's centenary

Chennai: Space rocket startup Skyroot Aerospace on Friday unveiled its cryogenic engine Dhawan-1 on the occasion of 100th birth anniversary of Indian rocket scientist Satish Dhawan, said a top company official.

Satish Dhawan is the third Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Interestingly, ISRO rocket launch centre at Sriharikota is named after him -- the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC).

"Today, on the occasion of 100th birth anniversary of Padma Vibhushan Dr. Satish Dhawan, we unveil 'Dhawan-1', India's first privately developed indigenous fully cryogenic rocket engine which runs on liquid natural gas (LNG) as fuel," Pawan Kumar Chandana, Co-Founder, CEO and CTO of Skyroot said.

The cyrogenic engine 'Dhawan-1' is 100 per cent 3D printed and fueled by LNG and liquid oxygen as oxidizer.

According to Skyroot, the cryogenic engine will be powering its Vikram II rocket.

The company is also developing Vikram I rocket which is expected to make its first flight next year.