ISRO targets mid-2027 readiness for integrated methane engine

ISRO is targeting the middle of 2027 to have its integrated LME1100 liquid-oxygen and methane engine ready, according to a technical status report published on October 16, 2026. The agency plans to follow that step with hot tests to qualify the engine across operating conditions, including different thrust-throttling profiles.

The 1,100-kilonewton engine uses a gas-generator cycle. ISRO reported that its full-scale gas generator underwent its first ignition test on October 9, with further tests planned under different conditions. That was a subsystem test preceding the status report, rather than a firing of the complete integrated engine.

Qualification work remains under way. ISRO says the oxygen and methane turbopumps are at different stages of subsystem testing at its Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre and ISRO Propulsion Complex. Dynamic seals and turbopump bearings are also undergoing qualification, while cold-flow characterisation of the integrated turbopump systems is in progress. The report also describes subscale thrust-chamber tests used to refine the injector configuration.

ISRO says more than 70% of the LME1100 components have been made using additive manufacturing, with industrial partners across India involved. The report does not name those suppliers. The agency identifies liquid-oxygen and methane engines as the primary propulsion systems for its Next Generation Launch Vehicle.

The same report describes completed design work for a separate 2,400-kilonewton methane engine using a full-flow staged-combustion cycle, intended for a future heavy-lift vehicle for crewed lunar missions. It does not announce a completed engine or a firing of that larger design. For LME1100, integrated-engine readiness and the subsequent qualification hot tests remain the next steps.