Exclusive : L&T And ISRO’s five decades of missions to space

Mumbai: Larsen & Toubro (L&T), an Indian multinational active in EPC Projects, Hi-Tech Manufacturing, and Services, has been involved in India’s Space Programme for over five decades. L&T is a key player in the launch of the LVM3 M4 Chandrayaan Mission. In a landmark feat, L&T was engaged in this mission from subsystem production through mission tracking.

The critical booster segments, which have a diameter of 3.2 metres, were built and proof pressure tested at L&T’s Powai facility. Other contributions to the project include the delivery of ground and flight umbilical plates built at L&T’s high-tech Aerospace Manufacturing Facility in Coimbatore. L&T has also played an important part in the system integration of the Indian Space Programme’s Launch Vehicle.

“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,” said AT Ramchandani, Executive Vice President and Head, L&T Defence. The space sector is expanding for Indian industry, and we will utilise our long affiliation with ISRO to play a larger part in future space programmes.”

The space gear was manufactured at L&T’s high-tech Aerospace Manufacturing Facility, meeting the demanding quality and scheduling criteria for India’s third Moon trip. All of these subsystems were delivered ahead of time.

The L&T Precision Monopulse Tracking Radar (PMTR) at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota has been utilised for quick acquisition and tracking of Launch Vehicles. L&T has also completed the Deep Space Networking Antenna at Byalalu, which is necessary for exploration missions.

L&T, as a long-term valued partner of ISRO, has been engaged in the development of a wide spectrum of hardware for every ISRO mission, including the celebrated Chandrayaan-1 and 2, Gaganyaan, and Mangalyaan missions.

The LVM3 rocket, ISRO’s heavy-lift launcher, has been identified for the Chandrayaan project due to its required payload carrying capability for launching an Orbiter module in a desired elliptical orbit. This launch vehicle’s solid propellant booster is the S-200.