India has successfully tested its indigenously developed supersonic combustion ramjet (scramjet) engine, which engineers hope could one day allow a tenfold reduction in the cost of space launch.

The scramjet propulsion experiment will be carried by the RH-560 two-stage sounding rocket launched from Sriharikota spaceport in south India on Aug. 28.

India is working to launch 70 satellites in the next three years, with plans to lift at least four satellites by year’s end, a senior space scientist says.