ISRO has successfully carried out two hot tests of the Gaganyaan Service Module Propulsion System (SMPS) on the house company’s Propulsion Complex in Mahendragiri on July 3.
The short-duration tests, lasting 30 seconds and 100 seconds respectively, had been aimed toward validating the check article configuration, ISRO mentioned in an announcement on Wednesday (July 8, 2025).
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“The overall performance of the propulsion system during these hot tests was normal as per pre-test predictions. During the 100s test, simultaneous operation of all Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters in different modes (steady state; pulsed) along with all Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) engines was also successfully demonstrated.
“ISRO’s Liquid Propulsion System Centre (LPSC) is main the expertise growth actions for the Gaganyaan SMPS. SMPS is a important system of Gaganyaan Orbital Module and is required throughout orbital manoeuvring in addition to particular abort situations,” the space agency said.
It comprises five Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) engines (each 440N thrust) and 16 Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters (each 100N thrust). In order to simulate the propulsion system conditions closer to flight, the SMPS test article for these hot tests incorporated improvements based on experience gained from earlier hot tests.
“With the boldness gained by these hot tests, ISRO will conduct a full length hot check shortly,” the statement said.
According to ISRO, the Gaganyaan programme aims to demonstrate India’s capability to launch a crewed spacecraft into low Earth orbit, and the experience and knowledge gained from this mission will be crucial for its success.
