THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Taking a big step forward in the development of bigger and more powerful locally-built rocket engines, the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) on Monday successfully conducted the first ‘cold flow test’ on the CE-20 cryogenic engine, which will power the upper stage of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mk III (GSLV-Mk III).
“It’s a milestone,” LPSC director Dr K Sivan told ‘Express’ here on Tuesday, confirming that the test had gone as planned at the LPSC facility in Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu. The first ‘hot test’ - where the engine will be fired for a few seconds- will be performed in three weeks’ time, Sivan said.
In a cold test, the propellants are not ignited. On Monday, the fuel, Liquid Hydrogen (LH2), and the oxidiser, Liquid Oxygen (LOX), were injected into the chambers for the checking of various parameters.
Cryogenic engines were back in the news with the Kerala High Court making a reference to it on Monday while passing a directive on the infamous ISRO spy case of 1994. The spy case had delayed its development and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) could conduct the first successful flight test aboard the GSLV-Mk II type launch vehicle (GSLV-D5) only on January 5, 2014. CE-20 is a mightier version of the CE-7.5 engine used in the GSLV-D5 mission. Cryogenic technology is highly complex as the propellants must be stored at extremely low temperatures.
The work is progressing on another CE-7.5 engine, which will power the upper stage of the GSLV-D6, a ditto version of the GSLV-D5, expected to be flown in March-April 2015. This flight is very crucial for ISRO to prove that the cryo stage is reliable.
“The work on the engine is in an advanced stage,” said N R Vishnu Kartha, LPSC associate director and GSLV Cryogenic Upper Stage Project director.