Chennai, Mar 15 (UNI) The flight acceptance hot testing of the cryogenic engine identified for the sixth operational mission of LVM3 launch vehicle (LVM-M6) was successfully conducted, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said on Saturday.

The flight acceptance hot test of CE20 Cryogenic Engine for LVM3-M6 Mission was conducted yesterday at ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC), Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu.

Cryogenic engines for every mission undergo hot testing as part of its acceptance for the flight.

Hot tests for the indigenous cryogenic engine (CE20)used in the Cryogenic Upper Stage of LVM3

were so far performed at the High-Altitude Test (HAT) facility at IPRC, where vacuum conditions

are simulated with complex installations, limiting the maximum hot test duration to 25s.

ISRO said, in the current test, the engine was tested for a longer duration of 100s for the first time

using an innovative Nozzle Protection System under non-vacuum conditions.

This test method significantly reduces the setup time and effort required for the flight acceptance testing of a cryogenic engine, which in turn helps faster delivery of cryogenic stages for space missions.

Performance of the CE20 engine met all the test objectives and the parameters were closely matching with the predictions during the entire duration of the test.

Further, this engine will be integrated to the Cryogenic Upper Stage of the launch vehicle for the LVM3-M6 mission, which is scheduled during the second half of 2025.

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