India successfully tests first oxygen-breathing rocket

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: ISRO's first rocket test which flies by breathing atmospheric oxygen has been successful. The launch took place at the Satish Dhawan rocket station in Sriharikotta at 7.30 am yesterday. The Rohini 560 rocket was tested with an advanced technology vehicle fitted with a scramjet engine developed by ISRO.

At six times the speed of sound, the ATV rocket (Advanced Technological Vehicle) breathed oxygen and jumped. The rocket successfully completed all 110 specified criteria that reached the edge of the Earth's atmosphere. With this, India became the fourth country to win an inflatable rocket. Other countries with this advantage are America, Russia and Japan. The scramjet engine and suitable propulsion were developed in August 2016.

A typical rocket will have two tanks, including a fuel tank and an oxycarrier to ignite it. Hydrogen is the main fuel in the ATV rocket. The ATV flew up to a height of 70 km using oxygen breathed from the atmosphere. It can only be used until the Earth's atmosphere is exhausted.

Can carry heavy satellites

The new system can reduce the weight of the rocket and carry heavy satellites into space. For example, India's largest rocket, the LMV. 3 weighs 640 tonnes. 555 tons of this is fuel. Due to this, satellites weighing more than four tonnes cannot be flown. In this, if scram jet engine is used, it can jump with satellites weighing eight to ten tons. 385 tonnes of fuel can be saved with the new system. It can reach ten times the speed of sound.