Space startup Skyroot's rocket engine successfully tested at ISRO facility

Bengaluru: The Indian Space Research Organisation has enabled a successful rocket-engine test conducted by Skyroot, a Hyderabad-based space start-up, at ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu.

Friday's test in the Liquid Thruster Test Facility (LTTF) in IPRC, involved the Raman-II engine, which was designed by Skyroot to generate 820 Newton (Sea Level) and 1,460 Newton (Vacuum) thrust, with a nominal chamber pressure of 8.5 bar absolute, Bengaluru-headquartered ISRO said in a statement on Saturday.

The regeneratively cooled engine, manufactured through additive manufacturing techniques, utilises Mono Methyl Hydrazine and Nitrogen Tetroxide as propellants. "The 10-second duration test achieved the expected performance in terms of start transient, steady state, and shut-off," it said. Skyroot intends to integrate the Raman-II engine into the fourth stage of its launch vehicle, Vikram-I. "The test facility systems demonstrated normal performance during the test, meeting the engine inlet conditions at T0," the statement said.

The instrumentation systems also performed as expected, further ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the test results, it was stated. This facilitation underscores ISRO's commitment to nurture private players, start-ups, and Non-Government Entities (NGEs) in developing the country's space eco-system, the space agency said. Going forward, a series of additional tests are planned to further validate and refine the Raman-II engine's capabilities.