ISRO Successfully Conducts Flight Acceptance Test Of Engine That Will Power LVM3 For Chandrayaan-3

Chandrayaan-3 is a planned third lunar exploration mission by ISRO, and will be a mission repeat of Chandrayaan-2. However, Chandrayaan-3 will not have an orbiter. 

Chandrayaan-3: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully conducted the flight acceptance hot test of an engine that will power one of the stages of Launch Vehicle Mark III (LVM3) for the Chandrayaan-3 mission. A hot test is a production test used to check all the engine-operating parameters as they would function real-time in an actual vehicle. 

All about ISRO’s test

The engine is called the CE-20 cryogenic engine. A cryogenic engine is one which uses a cryogenic fuel and oxidiser, which means that both its fuel and oxidiser are gases that have been liquefied, and stored at very low temperatures. This engine will be used for the Cryogenic Upper Stage of LVM3, India's largest launch vehicle. 

The flight acceptance hot test was conducted on February 24, 2023, at the High Altitude Test Facility, ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu. 

Carried out for a planned duration of 25 seconds, the test showed that all the propulsion parameters were satisfactory and closely matched with predictions, ISRO said in a statement.

In order to realise the fully integrated flight cryogenic stage, the cryogenic engine will be further integrated with the propellant tanks, stage structures and associated fluid lines. 

What is Chandrayaan-3?

Chandrayaan-3 is a planned third lunar exploration mission by ISRO, and will be a mission repeat of Chandrayaan-2. However, Chandrayaan-3 will not have an orbiter. 

It is expected to be launched between June and July 2023. 

Chandrayaan-3 will be launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, atop an LVM3 rocket. The lunar rover, lander and propulsion module that will be launched as part of the mission will aim for the same landing site on the Moon's south polar region that Chandrayaan-2's Vikram lander attempted in 2019. 

ISRO plans to explore the dark side of the Moon in collaboration with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). ISRO and JAXA will send a lunar rover and lander to explore the permanent shadow region of the Moon. The rover and lander will be built by ISRO, and put into orbit by a Japanese rocket. 

According to a November 2022 report by PTI, Anil Bhardwaj, director of the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad, said the success of the lunar rover on board Chandrayaan-3 is crucial as it would be used again in the mission with JAXA.