The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited-L&T (HAL-L&T) consortium has won an Rs 860 crore deal from NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) to build five rockets. As per the contract, the consortium would manufacture five polar satellite launch vehicles (PSLVs) rockets, the versatile workhorse launch vehicle of India.
The consortium will be responsible for producing, assembling, and integrating the launcher by making use of the existing ISRO facilities under the GOCO (Government Owned, Contractor Operated) model.
An official of NSIL said, “We have now signed a service level agreement with the industry for production. May be in less than two years, we (the 52:48 HAL-L&T consortium) will be able to deliver the first rocket from the industry consortium, fully built by the industry, with appropriate hand-holding from ISRO.”
ISRO set up NSIL with the stated mission of “enabling Indian industries to scaled up a high-technology manufacturing base for the space programme through technology transfer mechanisms, catering to emerging global commercial small satellite launch service market, satellite services for various domestic and international application needs and enabling space technology spin-offs for betterment of mankind through industry interface.”
The official also added that currently, about 80 percent of mechanical systems and 60 percent of electronic systems of the PSLV come from the industry. However, the remaining percentages in both areas are highly complex.
