BENGALURU: ISRO on Saturday said that it had completed the ignition trial of the indigenous CE20 cryogenic engine powering the upper stage of the Launch Vehicle Mark (LVM)-3. The trial was completed on February 7 in the High Altitude Test Facility at ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu.
The trials were done with the multi-element igniter under vacuum conditions, which simulated the engine ignition in the vacuum condition of space.
“During the test, the engine’s ignition thrust chamber was carried out with a multi-element igniter in a vacuum, under the tank pressure conditions that are expected to prevail at the time of restarting the cryogenic engine in flight. The performance of the engine and the facility during the test was normal and as expected,” ISRO said.
Scientists said as restarting a cryogenic engine is complex and as part of the studies related to the restart operation, ISRO is exploring the initiation of turbopumps in bootstrap mode rather than the stored gas system. In this approach, both the thrust chamber and gas generator are expected to re-ignite under tank head conditions. ISRO has outlined a series of tests aimed at engine start in bootstrap mode towards enhancing the capability for multiple cryogenic engine restarts during flight.
Previously, the engine ignition trial using a multi-element igniter was carried out underground conditions outside the vacuum chamber. The engine is already qualified to operate for thrust levels ranging from 19t to 22t in flight with a single start and is qualified for the Gaganyaan mission.