New Delhi | The first commercially built PSLV rocket is expected to place in orbit the Oceansat satellite early next year, a top L&T executive said on Tuesday.
The consortium of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Larsen & Toubro have built the first PSLV rocket entirely on their own, marking a new chapter in India's space journey.
"We have started delivering the PSLV hardware. We are hopeful that next year we will probably have two or three launches," A T Ramchandani, Senior Vice President and Head, L&T Precision Engineering and Systems, told PTI on the sidelines of the India International Space Conclave organised by Indian Space Association.
Ramchandani recently took over as Chairman of Indian Space Association, the industry body for the space sector in the country.
ISRO had signed a contract with the HAL-L&T consortium for end-to-end manufacture of five PSLV-XL rockets in 2022 as part of efforts to hive off production of proven rockets to the industry as it focuses on new missions and research.
"ISRO feels that the demand for satellites is high. And, we may end up doing another ten launches after these five," Ramchandani said, adding that the space agency was keen to step back from manufacturing the PSLV and encourage the industry to produce the proven rocket.
He said the first PSLV built by HAL-L&T consortium will launch the Oceansat satellite early next year.
Ramchandani said the consortium faced certain challenges in manufacturing some components of the launch systems, but ISRO stepped in to help resolve the issues.
He said the consortium has been receiving inquiries about probable launch opportunities from within India as well as abroad.
"A lot of companies are now reaching out to us. People are realizing that we are part of the game. Today, we have also not stepped out, reaching out to customers. But, I suppose that is the next step after a couple of launches," Ramchandani said.
ISRO also transferred the technology to manufacture the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) to HAL, which will now fully own and operate the launch vehicle business.
