Hyderabad startup tests reusable rocket engine successfully

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.

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).