Gaganyaan cryogenic engine clears human-rating test, ready for mission

BENGALURU: ISRO has accomplished a major milestone in the human rating of its CE20 cryogenic engine of the human-rated LVM3 launch vehicle for Gaganyaan human spaceflight missions, with the completion of the final round of ground qualification tests.

“ISRO’s CE20 cryogenic engine is now human-rated for Gaganyaan missions,” the space agency said on Wednesday, adding the engine identified for the first uncrewed flight LVM3 G1 also went through acceptance tests.

The February 13 final test was the seventh of a series of vacuum ignition tests carried out at the High Altitude Test Facility at ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri, to simulate flight conditions, it said.

The ground qualification tests for human-rating the engine involved life demonstration tests, endurance tests and performance assessment under nominal operating conditions and off-nominal conditions with respect to thrust, mixture ratio and propellant tank pressure.

All the ground qualification tests of the CE20 engine for the programme have been successfully completed, ISRO said.

To qualify for human rating standards, four engines have undergone 39 hot firing tests under different operating conditions for a cumulative duration of 8,810 seconds against the minimum qualification standard requirement of 6,350 seconds, it said. ISRO has also successfully completed the acceptance tests of the flight engine for the first unmanned Gaganyaan mission tentatively scheduled for the second quarter of 2024.