ISRO continues to impress the country and the world, with the latest successful test of its Scramjet engine

ISRO: successful test of indigenously developed scramjet engine

 The space agency’s ATV rocket was able to fly at Mach 6 (six times the speed of sound) speeds, propelling India into the league of only four nations to be capable of doing so

Super Sonic Combustion RAM Jet or Scramjet, also called Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV), during its test by ISRO

If you look at the schematics of a Scramjet (or Supersonic Combusting ramjet), it looks pretty straight forward – air gets sucked in from the front, fuel burns in middle and exhaust gas comes out of the back generating thrust

Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV), during its test by ISRO

But this is where the simplicity of the design ends. Factors like air inlet design, air compressibility, complex flows, high temperatures, fuel injection, etc – make it really difficult to design a suitable scramjet powerplant.