ISRO successfully test fires liquid fuel engine for Gaganyaan Mission

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on July 14, 2021, successfully conducted the third long-duration hot test of the liquid propellant Vikas Engine for the core L110 liquid stage of the human-rated GSLV Mk III vehicle for the Gaganyaan Mission.

The liquid propellant Gaganyaan Mission was test-fired for 240 seconds to evaluate the engine qualification requirements for the Gaganyaan Mission at the engine test facility of ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC), Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu, ISRO stated in its press release.

ISRO earlier has announced to send two unmanned GSLV-Mk III rockets into space before sending the crewed mission in the third rocket.

Gaganyaan Program: Third Successful Vikas Engine Long Duration Hot Test: Highlights

• ISRO on July 14, 2021, successfully carried out the third long-duration hot test of the liquid propellant Vikas Engine for the core L110 liquid stage of the human-rated GSLV Mk III vehicle for the Gaganyaan Mission.

• The liquid propellant Vikas Engine was test-fired for 240 seconds to evaluate the engine qualification requirements for the Gaganyaan Mission at the engine test facility of ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC), Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu.

• The performance of the engine successfully achieved the objectives of the test and closely matched the predicted paraments during the entire duration of the test.

About the Gaganyaan Mission

• The first formal announcement of the Gaganyaan Mission was made by PM Narendra Modi on August 15, 2018, during his address on Independence Day.

• The program will carry three people on spacecraft into Earth’s low orbit for seven days by 2022. Four Indian astronauts have been undergone training in Russia as a part of the mission.

• The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-Mk III) has been identified as the launch vehicle for the mission. The spacecraft for the Gaganyaan mission comprises a crew module and a service module known as the Orbital Module. The service module of the Gaganyaan mission will be powered by two liquid-propellant engines.

• ISRO will be sending two unmanned GSLV-Mk III rockets into space before sending the crewed mission in the third rocket.

• The first unmanned and the second unmanned mission were scheduled for December 2020 and July 2021, respectively. However, the missions were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the first unmanned mission is expected to be executed in December 2021, and the second unmanned mission in 2022-23.

• The Gaganyaan mission will make India the fourth country in the world to have successfully launched a crewed mission into space, after the US, the USSR/Russia, and China.

Also read: Gaganyaan mission: ISRO to launch first uncrewed mission in December 2021