Question

73. With reference to ‘scramjet engine’, recently seen in the news, consider the following statements:
1. It uses Hydrogen as fuel and the Oxygen from the atmospheric air as the oxidizer.
2. India is the first country to demonstrate the flight testing of Scramjet Engine.
Which of the above statement(s) is/are correct?

• A. Only 1
• B. Only 2
• C. Both 1 and 2
• D. None of the above

Answer 1

The correct option is A Only 1

A scramjet (supersonic combusting ramjet) is a variant of a ramjet air breathing jet engine in which combustion takes place in supersonic airflow. As in ramjets, a scramjet relies on high vehicle speed to forcefully compress the incoming air before combustion (hence ramjet), but a ramjet decelerates the air to subsonic velocities before combustion, while airflow in a scramjet is supersonic throughout the entire engine. It was developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It uses Hydrogen as fuel and the Oxygen from the atmospheric air as the oxidiser. ISRO’s Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV), which is an advanced sounding rocket, was the solid rocket booster used for test of Scramjet engines at supersonic conditions. ATV carrying Scramjet engines weighed 3277 kg at lift-off. The Scramjet engine will also be used eventually to power ISRO’s reusable launch vehicle at hypersonic speed. India is the fourth country to demonstrate the flight testing of Scramjet Engine after the United States, Russia and European Space Agency.