The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh successfully tested its own scramjet – an engine that takes atmospheric oxygen to burn engine fuel.
This new engine takes in oxygen from the atmosphere as its fuel. This reduces the overall weight of the rocket and increases efficiency. It will eventually be used to power ISRO’s reusable launch vehicle (RLV) at hypersonic speed.
The scramjet engine will help in bringing down the launch cost by reducing the amount of oxidiser to be carried along with the fuel.
The scramjet with its Air Breathing Propulsion System technology will power the Advanced Re-usable Launch Vehicle (ARLV). Many countries like Japan, China and Russia are in the initial or testing phase of supersonic combustor technology. The test of the scramjet engine puts India in a select club of nations including Australia and the United States.
ISRO Chairman Dr Kiran Kumar has said that it was a grand success. President Pranab Mukherjee congratulated ISRO for the successful test.
