• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully carried out a demonstration of restarting its Vikas liquid engine at a test facility at the Propulsion Complex in Mahendragiri.

• The Vikas engine is the workhorse that powers the liquid stages of its launch vehicles.

• This test marked a milestone in the development of technologies for recovery of stages, leading to reusability in future launch vehicles.

• In this test, the engine was fired for 60 seconds after which it was shut-off for a period of 120 seconds followed by restart and firing for seven seconds duration. All engine parameters during the test were normal and as expected.

• Previously, a shorter duration restart was carried out successfully in December 2024 with a shut-off time of 42 seconds and firing duration of seven seconds each.

• Further tests are planned in coming days to optimise the performance of the engine under restart conditions.

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