Hyderabad startup tests reusable rocket engine successfully

Hyderabad-based Abyom SpaceTech and Defence has successfully completed the hot fire test of its BSE-II liquid rocket engine, marking a key step towards developing reusable launch vehicles and advancing indigenous space propulsion and testing capabilities.

Hyderabad: Hyderabad-based Abyom SpaceTech and Defence, a startup developing reusable launch vehicles and advanced propulsion systems, has successfully completed the hot fire test campaign for its BSE (BattleShip Engine)-II, a 2.5 kN thrust-class liquid rocket engine.

This test has paved the way for the startup, incubated at the BITS Pilani Hyderabad campus, towards its Flight Ready Engine (FRE) and HOPE vehicle, a vertical take-off and vertical landing (VTVL) reusable rocket prototype development programme.

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The BSE-II hot fire was designed to validate the engine’s performance under operationally relevant conditions, with a focus on the core technologies required for a reusable and throttleable flight engine.

One of the most unique and significant aspects of the BSE-II was that every element of the testing stack was designed and built by team Abyom, with no reliance on external systems or imported infrastructure.

Apart from performance, the test validated the BSE-II engine’s blow-down combustion, injection and throttling (for VTVL), ignition and full system integration (engine, feed, control, and instrumentation, performing cohesively within design margins).

Following the successful test fire, Abyom’s near-term development roadmap includes cryogenic engine development by scaling to a higher-thrust cryogenic propulsion system with associated ground-handling infrastructure. The startup has plans to develop and test flight a fully automated VTVL demonstrator, India’s first, showcasing precision guidance, autonomous launch, and recovery.

The startup has already filed patents on its CTF platform, Spark Torch Igniter, and Pintle Injector, building a proprietary technology stack for the reusable launch era.

“We are not just building a rocket engine but validating the entire propulsion and testing ecosystem required to make reusable spaceflight a reality from India,” said Jainul Abedin, Founder and CEO, Abyom SpaceTech and Defence.