ISRO enables +’successful’ test of space startup Skyroot’s rocket engine at TN facility

Visuals of the rocket engine test shared by ISRO.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on July 22 said that it enabled a successful rocket engine test conducted by Skyroot, a Hyderabad-based space startup at its facility in Tamil Nadu.

The test was conducted at the ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC), based in Tamil Nadu's Mahendragiri, on July 21. "The test took place in the Liquid Thruster Test Facility (LTTF) in IPRC," the space agency said in a release.

The test involved the Raman-II engine, which was designed by Skyroot to generate 820N (Sea Level) and 1460N (Vacuum) thrust, with a nominal chamber pressure of 8.5 bar absolute.

The regeneratively-cooled engine, manufactured through additive manufacturing techniques, utilises Mono Methyl Hydrazine and Nitrogen Tetroxide as propellants, ISRO said.

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"The 10-second duration test achieved the expected performance in terms of start transient, steady state and shut-off. Skyroot intends to integrate the Raman-II engine into the fourth stage of its launch vehicle, Vikram-I," the release stated.

The test facility systems demonstrated normal performance during the test, "meeting the engine inlet conditions at T0", ISRO said, adding that the instrumentation systems also "performed as expected", further ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the test results.

The agency said that this facilitation of the test underscored its "commitment to nurturing private players, start-ups, and non-government entities (NGEs) in developing the country's space eco-system".

Going forward, a series of additional tests are planned to further validate and refine the Raman-II engine's capabilities, ISRO added.