ISRO conducts successful ignition trial of CE20 engine, key for India's Gaganyaan mission

ISRO on Saturday said that it has successfully carried out the ignition trial of the indigenous CE20 cryogenic engine powering the upper stage of LVM3, with a multi-element igniter under vacuum conditions, which simulates the engine ignition in the vacuum condition of space. This test was carried out on Friday in the High-Altitude Test Facility at ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu, ISRO said in a statement.

This engine is crucial for the Gaganyaan mission, India's ambitious crewed space mission. During this test, the ignition of the engine Thrust Chamber was carried out with a multi-element igniter in a vacuum, under the tank pressure conditions that are expected to prevail at the time of restarting the cryogenic engine in flight. The performance of the engine and the facility during the test was normal and as expected.