The scramjet engine works on an “air breathing” philosophy that reduces the amount of oxidiser to be carried along with the fuel, bringing down launch costs. Designed by the ISRO, it uses hydrogen as fuel and oxygen from the atmospheric air as the oxidiser.
“This experiment was conducted for a five-second duration at 20 km. To carry the engines, we used a special two stage-sounding rocket,” Dr. Sivan said. At the beginning of the five seconds, the engine’s entry was opened and fuel was injected, then the engine ignited automatically. The injection of fuel lasted for seven seconds. During this duration, the burning happened, the flames sustained. The result is exactly what we wanted,” Dr. Sivan said.
He said the experiment showed that the nation could develop such crucial and complex technology “useful for future space transportation system either for launch vehicles or even for aerospace planes.”
The scramjet engine technology when fully developed could even help bring down intercontinental travel time, according to Dr. Sivan.
“It could be used for launch vehicles [rockets], space planes – transportation, and missiles,” he said.
PM lauds ISRO
Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded ISRO on Twitter. “Successful testing of scramjet rocket engine is a testimony to the hardwork & excellence of our scientists. Congratulations to @isro,” he tweeted.
Scramjet engine technology can be used for launch vehicle, space planes and missiles