HAL and L&T together have created the country’s first PSLV rocket with indigenous technology.
A new and very important chapter is going to be added in Indian space history. Till now we understood rocket launching to mean only ISRO, but this picture is about to change. The country’s leading companies Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) are ready to create history together. The consortium of these two has prepared India’s first such PSLV rocket.
‘Indigenous’ rocket ready to touch the sky
This first rocket developed by HAL and L&T will be on the launch pad early next year. Its first mission is to place the ‘Oceansat’ satellite in orbit. A senior L&T official, A.T. Ramchandani has told that the delivery of rocket hardware has started. It is expected that in the coming year we can see two to three such big launches.
Many more rockets are in the queue
In the year 2022, ISRO had signed an agreement with the consortium of HAL and L&T to build five PSLV-XL rockets. This agreement is part of ISRO’s plan, under which it wants to hand over the responsibility of its manufacturing to the industry. Ramchandani, who is also the chairman of the Indian Space Association, says that the demand for satellites is increasing very rapidly. The situation is such that after these five rockets, the consortium may get the work of making 10 more rockets. As the world is coming to know that Indian private companies have now entered the game of launching, many companies from India and abroad are getting in touch.
Why did ISRO change its strategy?
This question is bound to arise in the mind of the common man that when ISRO is so capable, then why is it giving this work to private companies? Actually, this is a very well thought out strategy. ISRO wants that instead of making routine rockets, it should now focus its entire attention on new missions, research and developing new technology.
In the beginning, the industry faced difficulties in making some complex parts of the rocket, but ISRO extended a helping hand there too and resolved the problems. Besides, ISRO has also handed over the technology of its small rocket ‘SSLV’ to HAL, so that India can capture the market of small satellites in future.
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