ISRO demonstrates the restart capability of the Vikas liquid engine

Science & Technology Science

Posted by NewAdmin on 2025-01-23 13:25:22 |

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The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that its team of research scientists successfully demonstrated the restart capability of the Vikas liquid engine on January 17, 2025. The tests were conducted at the ISRO Propulsion Complex in Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu. The Vikas engine, which powers the liquid stages of all ISRO launch vehicles, is a critical component for advancing stage recovery and reusability technologies in future missions.

During the test, the engine operated for 60 seconds, was shut off for 120 seconds, and then restarted for 7 seconds. All parameters were found to be normal, validating the engine’s performance under restart conditions. A similar short-duration test in December 2024 involved a 42-second shutdown followed by a 7-second firing. ISRO plans further tests to optimize engine performance for future reusable launch vehicles.

Additionally, ISRO flagged off the core liquid stage (L110) of the Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3) at Sriharikota. This stage, powered by twin Vikas engines with a propellant load of 110 tonnes, is designated for the LVM3 mission under a commercial agreement between NSIL and AST & Science, LLC, for launching their BlueBird Block-2 satellite.

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