ISRO’s LOX-Methane Engine: The Indian Space Research Organisation which is also called ISRO, has reached an important milestone in rocket technology. ISRO has successfully tested a small version of a new rocket engine part that uses liquid oxygen and methane as fuel. This test is quite a huge step forward for India’s future space missions and new launch rockets.
The test was done on January 27, 2026, at the ISRO’s Propulsion Complex in Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu. During the test, the engine part was ignited and kept burning steadily inside the chamber which showed that it worked properly. The pressure inside the chamber reached 56 bar and all systems behaved normally. This confirmed that the design is safe and reliable at this early stage.
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Engine Test
The engine part that was tested is called a thrust chamber, which is one of the most important parts of a rocket engine. It is where the fuel burns to create power and the ISRO built this thrust chamber and its injector head using 3D printing.
Liquid oxygen and methane are becoming popular rocket fuels around the world because they burn cleaner, are safer to store, and give better performance than older fuels. These fuels are especially useful for rockets that can be reused, which helps reduce launch costs in the future. This makes the new engine design very important for ISRO’s long-term plans.
India’s Next Generation Launch Vehicle
This engine test supports ISRO’s work on its Next Generation Launch Vehicle, also known as NGLV or Soorya. This new rocket is being designed to carry heavy loads of up to 30 tonnes into low Earth orbit. It will have three stages, with the first two stages using groups of LOX-methane engines and the final stage using a cryogenic engine.
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ISRO engineers can find problems by testing smaller engine parts first, this way they can detect problems early and improve the design before building full-sized engines. More tests will be done with different designs to find the best setup for higher power and better reliability.
