What is the Vikas Engine?

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About Vikas Engine:

VIKAS (an acronym for Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai) engine is a family of liquid-fuelled rocket engines conceptualized and designed by the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre of ISRO in the 1970s.
The early productions involved imported French components, which were later replaced by domestically produced equivalents.
These engines are deployed for ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) series of expendable launch vehicles for space launch use.
The fuel load of the Vikas engine is 40 tonnes for the PSLV, GSLV Mark I and II, and 55 tonnes for the GSLV Mark III.

Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC):

The LPSC is a research and development center functioning under ISRO.
It is the center for the design, development, and realization of liquid propulsion stages for ISRO’s Launch Vehicles.
LPSC activities and facilities are spread across its two campuses: LPSC, Valiamala, Thiruvananthapuram, and LPSC, Bengaluru, Karnataka.

Q1) What is the advantage of liquid-fuelled rocket engines?

Advantages of liquid propellant rockets include the highest energy per unit of fuel mass, variable thrust, and a restart capability. Raw materials, such as oxygen and hydrogen are in abundant supply and are relatively easy to manufacture.

Source: ISRO’s Vikas engine passes throttling test