Tag : Rocket

Chennai: The Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) consortium has turned out to the lowest price bidder for making five Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) XL variant rocket out of the three who had bid, said a space sector official. With this, the transfer of PSLV-XL production outside of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) moves a step forward. "The Hindustan Aeronautics and L&T consortium has turned out to be the lowest bidder to make five PSLV-XL rockets. Now other agreements have to be signed between NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL) and the winning consortium before awarding the contract," an official, preferring anonymity, told IANS. According to the official, the remaining activities are expected to be completed in a couple of months' time, if everything goes smoothly. "The first PSLV-XL rocket is expected to be realised in 24 months from the date of award of the contract. Subsequently one rocket every six months has to be delivered to NSIL," the official added. The first rocket is expected to be realised sometime during the second half of 2024 and the balance four rockets will be delivered during 2025 and 2026 at two rockets per year. This is the first time in the ISRO's history that an entire rocket, including the heatshield, is to be made outside of the space agency. However, the official declined to comment whether the successful bid amount was around Rs 825 crore (about Rs 165 crore per rocket) excluding taxes. According to a NSIL official, the selected industry player can use ISRO facilities for a fee, and it is the industry's responsibility to deliver the rocket. It will be interesting to see the net cost of the rocket for NSIL. ISRO officials used to say the PSLV-XL version would cost about Rs ...