Isro successfully tests engine that will power LVM-3 to space with 36 OneWeb satellites

The Indian Space Research Organisation has successfully conducted an acceptance hot test of the CE-20 engine.

Flight acceptance hot test of a CE-20 engine. (Photo: Twitter/Isro)

By India Today Web Desk: The Indian Space Research Organisation has successfully conducted an acceptance hot test of the CE-20 engine that will be used to launch the next batch of 36 OneWeb satellites into Low Earth Orbit. The CE-20 engine will power the Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM-3), which earlier launched the first batch.

This engine is earmarked for the LVM3-M3 mission identified for the launch of the next set of 36 numbers of OneWeb India-1 satellites. During the test, the engine was fired for a duration of 25 seconds.

The hot test was conducted at the High Altitude Test facility of Isro Propulsion Complex at Mahendragiri. The CE-20 will power the cryogenic upper stage of the LVM3 vehicle working with the LOX-LH2 propellants combination.

“The major objectives of the flight acceptance test were to confirm the integrity of the hardware, assessment of subsystems’ performance and tune the engine for meeting the mission requirements parameters for engine tuning for flight operation,” Isro said.

It added that the analysis of test data confirmed the satisfactory performance of the engine systems. This engine will be assembled to the C-25 flight stage being integrated for the LVM3 M3 vehicle. The engine will produce a nominal thrust of 186.36 kN in a vacuum.

Isro in October launched the LVM3-M2, a dedicated commercial satellite mission of the New Space India Limited (NSIL), a public-sector enterprise under the Department of Space. This was the first time the rocket was used to carry foreign payloads.

The LVM-3 is GSLV Mk-3 and the sole reason behind changing the name of the vehicle from GSLV to LVM is that the rocket will not deploy the satellites in the geosynchronous orbit. The OneWeb satellites operate in Low Earth orbit (LEO) at an altitude of 1,200 kilometers.

The geosynchronous orbit, on the other hand, is located 35,786 kilometers above Earth’s equator. It is a prograde, low inclination orbit about Earth having a period of 23 hours 56 minutes 4 seconds. A spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit appears to remain above Earth at a constant longitude, although it may seem to wander north and south.

Also Read: Isro launches 36 OneWeb satellites in 1st commercial launch for LVM-3 | WATCH