Watch: India test fires 3D-printed rocket engine

India's top private aerospace company, Skyroot Aerospace has successfully fired an advanced fully 3D-printed cryogenic engine, Dhawan-II.

The engine roared to life for 200 seconds as the endurance test demonstrated the agility of the 3D printed structure to power the company's Vikram-II rocket.

Pawan Kumar Chandana, Co-founder, and CEO of Skyroot Aerospace said in a statement, " the successful test of Dhawan-II is a landmark achievement for Skyroot and the Indian private space sector. We are proud to be at the forefront in developing cutting-edge cryogenic technologies in the private space sector of India, and pushing the limit with advanced technologies like 3D printing and green propellants."

About Dhawan-II:

Dhawan-II is a 3.5 Kilo Newton (kN) engine which has been named after India's top rocket scientist, Dr. Satish Dhawan. The new test-fired engine is a successor of the fully-cryogenic rocket engine Dhawan-I which generated a 1.0 kN thrust.

The rocket engine uses two high-performance rocket fuels, Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) and Liquid Oxygen (LoX). Both require cryogenic temperatures (below -150 degree celsius) for storage and operation. LNGis more than 90 per cent Methane, and LoX is a green burning fuel that is environmentally friendly.

The company noted that the fully cryogenic engines are ideal for the upper stage of a rocket due to higher specific impulse, which greatly enhances payload-carrying capabilities.

According to V Gnanagandhi, who leads the liquid and cryogenic propulsion at Skyroot, the 3D-printed Dhawan-II engine also uses a 3D-printed torch igniters and a bellow-actuated cry-injection valve with a quick response time.

The development comes a month after Skyroot conducted its maiden launch of a privately developed rocket. The rocket called Vikram-S was successfully launched from the sounding rocket complex of the Indian Space Research Corporation )ISRO)'s Satish Dhwan Space Centrein Sriharikota.

The rocket touched a peak altitude of 89.9 kilometres and gained a speed of Mach 5, which is times the speed of sound. All the mission parameters were met b the launch vehicles and this cleared the stage for the company to launch the Vikram-I rocket likely this year. Vikram-I will be the first private orbital rocket launch from South Asia.