{"id":38631,"date":"2025-03-06T18:46:46","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T13:16:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=38631"},"modified":"2025-03-06T18:46:47","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T13:16:47","slug":"isro-successfully-conducts-phta-for-semi-cryogenic-engines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/06-03-2025\/isro-successfully-conducts-phta-for-semi-cryogenic-engines","title":{"rendered":"ISRO Successfully Conducts PHTA for Semi-cryogenic Engines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Space\/Science and Technology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently successfully conducted the <strong>Power Head Test Article (PHTA) <\/strong>on a <strong>semi-cryogenic engine (SE2000).<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Power Head Test Article (PHTA)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Purpose of PHTA: Validates the integrated performance of critical subsystems, including:<\/strong> Gas generator, Turbo pumps, Pre-burner, Control components.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Significance of PHTA: <\/strong>Essential for the development of ISRO\u2019s semi-cryogenic engine.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Cryogenic Stage in Launch Vehicles<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A cryogenic engine\/cryogenic stage is the<strong> last stage of space launch vehicles <\/strong>which makes <strong>use of cryogenics<\/strong> to store its fuel and oxidiser as liquids instead of gas.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In space, there is a <strong>lack of air, including oxygen,<\/strong> which means it is <strong>impossible to burn anything.\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>To fix this, <strong>rockets carry their own oxygen, known as an oxidiser,<\/strong> mixed with fuel to burn it in space.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Cryogenics\u00a0<\/strong><br>&#8211; Cryogenics is the <strong>study of materials and processes at extremely low temperatures,<\/strong> typically below -150\u00b0C.<br>&#8211; It primarily involves the <strong>use of cryogenic fluids<\/strong> such as liquid nitrogen (LN2), liquid oxygen (LOX), and liquid hydrogen (LH2).<br>&#8211; <strong>Applications in Various Fields: <\/strong>Space, Medical, Food Preservation, Industrial gases, Superconductivity etc.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Semi-cryogenic Engine<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Propellants:<\/strong> <strong>Liquid oxygen (LOX) <\/strong>and kerosene, making them <strong>safer and less toxic<\/strong> than <strong>cryogenic engines using liquid hydrogen<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Thrust:<\/strong> Offer enhanced thrust of <strong>2,000 kiloNewtons (kN).<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Payload Capacity:<\/strong> Semi-cryogenic engines <strong>increase payload capacity of launch vehicles<\/strong> due to the use of<strong> lighter fuel (kerosene).<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Difference between Cryogenic and Semi-cryogenic Engine<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ebecf0\"><thead><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\"><strong>Feature<\/strong><\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\"><strong>Cryogenic Engine<\/strong><\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\"><strong>Semi-Cryogenic Engine<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\"><strong>Propellants<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and Liquid Hydrogen (LH2).<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and Kerosene.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\"><strong>Storage Temperature<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">LH2 requires -253\u00b0C storage.<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Kerosene can be stored at normal temperatures.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\"><strong>Thrust<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Higher specific impulse, less dense.<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Higher density impulse, more thrust per volume.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\"><strong>Complexity<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">More complex to handle and store.<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Easier to handle and store.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\"><strong>Reusability<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Lower reusability potential<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Higher reusability potential due to simpler components.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Next Generation Launch Vehicle<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The development of the Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV) for the <strong>Gaganyaan missions is on track.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is a human-rated launch vehicle with high payload capability and reusability.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It features a reusable first stage and can carry up to 30 tons to Low Earth Orbit (LEO).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The first and second stages of NGLV will use LOX engines, with a cryogenic upper stage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>ISRO has successfully tested the recovery of the first stage of the NGLV.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/cities\/bangalore\/isro-conducts-crucial-test-semi-cryogenic-engines-9870691\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>IE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently successfully conducted the Power Head Test Article (PHTA) on a semi-cryogenic engine (SE2000).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38631"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38631\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38632,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38631\/revisions\/38632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}