CE20 cryogenic engine clears human rating test, ready for Gaganyaan missions

Indian Space Research Organisation has accomplished a major milestone in the human rating of its CE20 cryogenic engine, that powers the cryogenic stage of the human-rated LVM3 launch vehicle for Gaganyaan missions, with completion of the final round of ground qualification tests. According to ISRO, the ground qualification tests for the human rating of the CE20 engine involved life demonstration tests, endurance tests, and performance assessment under nominal operating conditions as well as off-nominal conditions w.r.t thrust, mixture ratio, and propellant tank pressure. In order to qualify the CE20 engine for human rating standards, four engines have undergone 39 hot firing tests under different operating conditions for a cumulative duration of 8,810 seconds against the minimum human rating qualification standard requirement of 6,350 seconds. Update on first unmanned Gaganyaan mission ISRO has also successfully completed the acceptance tests of the flight engine identified for the first unmanned Gaganyaan mission, tentatively scheduled for Q2 of 2024.