By Staff Correspondent
As Larsen & Toubro (L&T), an EPC project-centric Indian multinational, embarks on another significant space endeavour, it marks a half-century of partnership with India’s Space Program. A crucial contributor to the imminent LVM3 M4 Chandrayaan Mission, L&T’s involvement spans from manufacturing critical subsystems to facilitating mission tracking.
Essential components such as the head end segment, middle segment, and the nozzle bucket flange, each boasting a diameter of 3.2 meters, were meticulously crafted and pressure tested at L&T’s state-of-the-art facility in Powai. Furthering their commitment, L&T produced ground and flight umbilical plates at their high-technology Aerospace Manufacturing Facility in Coimbatore, bolstering the mission’s resources. Additionally, L&T has proved instrumental in the system integration of the Launch Vehicle integral to the Indian Space Programme.
“We are privileged to partner with ISRO in nationally important space programmes for which L&T has contributed its remarkable engineering prowess, manufacturing expertise and skilled workforce,” expressed Mr AT Ramchandani, Executive Vice President and Head, L&T Defence. He further highlighted the burgeoning opportunities in the Indian space sector and L&T’s ambitions to leverage their long-standing ISRO partnership for future initiatives.
In adherence to India’s third Moon mission’s stringent quality standards and timeline requirements, L&T utilised their cutting-edge Aerospace Manufacturing Facility. Impressively, all subsystems were delivered ahead of schedule.
Playing a critical role in the mission’s fast acquisition and tracking of Launch Vehicles, L&T deployed their Precision Monopulse Tracking Radar (PMTR) at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. They also commissioned the Deep Space Networking Antenna at Byalalu, contributing to the exploratory missions.
L&T’s history of involvement in producing hardware for every ISRO mission is evident in their work on the lauded Chandrayaan-1 and 2, Gaganyaan, and Mangalyaan missions. The Chandrayaan Mission utilises the ISRO’s heavy-lift launcher, LVM3, due to its ideal payload carrying capacity for launching an Orbiter module in a desired elliptical orbit. The S-200 forms the solid propellant booster for this launch vehicle.
L&T is a $23 billion Indian multinational powerhouse in over 50 countries. This recent venture underlines the firm’s commitment to supporting India’s ambitious space programme.