Sat Jan 18 03:56:39 UTC 2025: ## ISRO Successfully Tests Reusable Rocket Engine
**Bengaluru, January 18, 2025** – The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced the successful completion of a hot test demonstrating the reusability of its Vikas liquid engine. The test, conducted on January 17th at the Propulsion Complex in Mahendragiri, saw the engine successfully throttle to 67% thrust for 43 seconds. This is a significant milestone in ISRO’s efforts to develop reusable launch vehicle technology.
The Vikas engine, the workhorse powering ISRO’s liquid-fueled rockets, was shut off for 120 seconds before restarting and firing for an additional seven seconds. This follows a previous successful shorter-duration restart test in December 2024. Further tests are planned to optimize the engine’s performance under restart conditions. The ability to throttle and restart engines is crucial for recovering booster stages, reducing launch costs and increasing launch frequency.
Separately, ISRO Chairperson V. Narayanan flagged off the core liquid stage (L110) of the LVM3 launch vehicle to the Sriharikota launch complex on Friday. This stage, powered by twin Vikas engines, is the tenth L110 integrated at the Mahendragiri complex and is destined for the upcoming LVM3 mission, a commercial launch for AST SpaceMobile & Science, LLC’s BlueBird Block 2 satellite.
First Piper 