A cryogenic engine is a liquid propellant rocket motor which uses liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as propellants. Weight for weight it produces a much higher thrust than rockets using other propellants. It is an essential part of any rocket used to launch geostationary satellites such as INSAT-2B. Since the propellants have to be stored at extremely low temperatures of around minus 200 degrees Celsius, the technology used here is quite complex. Indian scientists have already developed a prototype of a small cryogenic engine. India has successfully carried out the “full test firing” of a domestically developed cryogenic engine. This has propelled India into an elite group of five other nations (USA, erstwhile USSR, France, China and Japan) with similar capabilities.
It is expected to be used in the upper third stage of the Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV).
