HAL, L&T to potentially bid for ISRO's small satellite launch rocket: Report
Reuters on 25 August. Developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) is a low-cost means to launch satellites weighing up to 500 kg (1,102 lb) into low-earth orbit. The SSLV serves a booming market to launch clusters of satellites for communications and data that SpaceX and rivals compete in.
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi to open launched the first of its kind under a policy drive, about 20 companies submitted an expression of interest in bidding on the privatization. ALSO READ: Chandrayaan-3 moon landing: Petition demands India declare 23 August as 'ISRO Day' Meanwhile, India is aiming to increase its share of the global satellite launch market by fivefold within the next decade. The report added that the next step will be to open the bidding process itself.
HAL and Larsen & Toubro, an industrial conglomerate, already have a contract with the government to manufacture and deliver rockets to ISRO. The firms will manufacture and deliver five Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles (PSLV) - often called ISRO's 'workhorse' rocket under the contract, whose deliveries are expected to begin in the next two years. ISRO will use the PSLV, which stands 44 meters tall (144 feet), to launch a space-based solar observatory, its Aditya-L1 mission, next month.
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