‘Current Policy Does Not Allow Exports'

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has supplied several critical flight hardware and more than 180 large and small hardware assemblies for the Chandrayan 2 launch vehicle. BW Businessworld’s Manish Kumar Jha chats with L&T’s Senior Vice President, Defence & Aerospace, Jayant Patil, about industry’s role in space research

- Jayant Patil

Please tell us about the role L&T has played in India’s space programme.

L&T’s association with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) dates back to the 1970s. L&T has played a significant role in India’s space programs for over five decades and has been associated with all generations of ISRO launch vehicles, right from the first Indian space launch, to SLV3, ASLV, PSLV, GSLV, and the latest GSLV Mk-III, which is being used for the Chandrayaan 2.

How was L& T associated with Chandrayaan 2?

For the Chandrayan 2 launch mission, L&T has provided several critical flight hardware, which includes metallic and composite sub-systems and assemblies. L&T has supplied more than 180 large and small hardware assemblies or sub-assemblies for the launch vehicle. Just to give an example of the complexity of ultra-high precision assemblies involved, one solar array actuation system assembly fitted on the Chandrayan 2 has 1,800 parts, of which 1,100 are individually precision manufactured and calibrated, which we count as one assembly.

The GSLV MkIII launch vehicle was powered at lift-off by twin S200 solid boosters comprising head-end, middle and nozzle-end segments. We manufacture these at L&T’s Powai Aerospace Workshop. These boosters are critical for providing brute thrust for the take-off of the launch vehicle during the densest atmospheric phase.

What should the government do to involve the private sector more actively in space exploration?