India’s First private Cryogenic Engine – Hyderabad-based rocket men aim for the stars

What is the News?

Skyroot Aerospace, a Hyderabad-based space technology startup, has successfully test-fired the Dhawan-1 engine and is planning to launch Vikram-1 and Vikram-2 launch vehicles in a few years.

What is Dhawan-1?

Dhawan-1 is India’s first privately developed, fully cryogenic rocket engine. It runs on two high-performance rocket propellants — liquid natural gas (LNG) and liquid oxygen (LoX).

The engine was developed using 3D printing with a superalloy.

Click Here to read about Cryogenic Engine 

What is Vikram?

Vikram is a series of launch vehicles to be launched by Skyroot space. These vehicles are specially crafted for the small satellite market. 

Vikram-1:  It is based on a solid propulsion engine. After Skyroot successfully designed and developed the solid propulsion rocket engine, it became the first private firm in the country to do so.

Vikram-2: This vehicle is using a cryogenic engine. It will be launched into orbit in the next 2 years.

Source: This post is based on the article “Hyderabad-based rocket men aim for the stars” published in The Hindu on 6th December 2021.