No Russian involvement in developing of cryogenic engine: ISRO

India is set to test the home-grown cryogenic stage and technology -- developed after 18 years of research -- in its rocket, GSLV, on April 15 from the Sriharikota spaceport.

Asked at a press conference here if Russians were involved in the development of cryogenic technology, ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan said India certainly learnt a lot working with Moscow and it was a "good learning experience".

But he asserted: "The (cryogenic) engine is designed by our own engineers, our own industry fabricated it, tested...". He added: "It's Indian. You should be proud of it".
ISRO officials recalled that the US exerted pressure on Russia not to provide cryogenic technology and India took a bold decision in 1992 to develop it indigenously.

Of the seven engines supplied by Russia earlier, ISRO has used five. Radhakrishnan said India developing this complex technology is a "befitting reply" to technology denial regimes.
"About Rs 335 crore is the amount used for the development (of indigenous cryogenic engine and stage)," Radhakrishnan said.

The Rs 175-crore GSLV-D3 would carry the Rs 150-crore, 2220 kg GSAT-4 experimental communications satellite in the proposed mission on April 15. The ISRO chairman said the PSLV mission, which would launch Cartosat-2B, an Algerian satellite, two Canadian nano-satellite, and Studsat developed by Indian students, is slated in the first half of May.