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From @Indx TechStyle
This edit is being made on 11th of July 2022 to put summary on lead.
SCE-200:
Godrej Aerospace to make semi-cryogenic engines | Business Line
This edit is being made on 11th of July 2022 to put summary on lead.
SCE-200:
- A Kerolox Semi-cryo engine based on Staged Combustion Cycle. It will be the base of India's upcoming heavy cargo rockets and engines.
- Has a vacuum thrust of 2,030 kN (1800+ kN at sea level) as core engine alone.
- Based on Soviet RD-120 design (which was used in USSR's first super heavy rocket energia) and shall be among largest operational engines in world (unless shit happens).
- Shall boost LVM3 rockets capacity to 5.5 to 6 tonnes against existing 4 tonnes to GTO.
- It's clustered group and further derivatives will power India's upcoming UMLV rocket family and HLV (Indian equivalents of Delta-IV Heavy, CZ-5, Ariane-5 and Proton-M) and later on ISRO's SHLV (Falcon 9 Heavy, Vulcan, Saturn-V, SLS and Long March 9 etc. class rockets).
- Envisaged in 2000s, India tried to get blueprints and technological knowhow of the post-Soviet tech from Ukraine's Yuzhmash office. The program since then has moved slowly but had been nearing culmination until Russo-Ukraine war delayed it. It shall be progressed and tested in India only further.
- It's realisation will zero the gap of launch payload of India with other major space powers, hence enabling country to launch heavy satellites and cargo for space stations etc.. Though issue of launch frequency due to few spaceporrs and rocket production rate shall remain low for a while.
Godrej Aerospace to make semi-cryogenic engines | Business Line
Chennai, December 18:
Godrej Aerospace, a division of Godrej & Boyce Ltd, has been mandated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to produce the more powerful and environment-friendly semi-cryogenic engines for it, the company's Executive Vice-President and Business Head, SM Vaidya told BusinessLine.
Godrej has been supplying the Vikas engines for ISRO's rockets, including two for the GSLV Mk III that flew today. Vaidya said the company has supplied over a hundred Vikas engines (which are, incidentally, named after Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai, India's renowned space scientist.)
Long delay
While cryogenic engines use liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, semi cryogenic engines (SME) use a combination of liquid oxygen and kerosene.
These engines have been used in American and Russian rockets for long. They powered the Saturn V rockets that took Americans to the moon; the Russian RD-180 engines have been used in Boeing's Atlas V rockets.
The SME project was approved by the Government of India in January 2009 at a sanctioned cost of ₹1,798 crore. Department of Space's Outcome Budget for 2014-15 says that the project is "in the initial stages".
It expects the engine to be fully developed "after six years".
Till the end of March 2013, ISRO had spent ₹155 crore on the project. Godrej will make six engines for ISRO. Vaidya said the company had begun work on three.
The SME is meant to power the future GSLV Mk III rockets as well as the heavy-life Unified Launch Vehicles, or ULV, which is today only a concept. The ULV will be a modular vehicle where the number of engines used will be based on the weight of the satellite or spacecraft.
The rocket will feature a combination of SME and an Indian cryogenic engine.
(This article was published on December 18, 2014)