HAL-L&T consortium bags Rs 860-crore Isro contract for five PSLVs

A space consortium formed by Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) was awarded a Rs 860-crore contract for the next five Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles (PSLVs), pointing to the healthy growth and consolidation of the domestic space and satellite launch industry. 

“(The) HAL-L&T consortium bagged a Rs 860-crore contract for end-to-end realisation of five PSLVs over a period of four years from NewsSpace India (NSIL)”, it was announced on Monday during the inaugural session of the 7th Bengaluru Space Expo 2022.

Over the years, the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (Isro’s) workhorse, PSLV, has carried out more than 52 successful flights and the rocket has attained operational status.

Isro has been providing satellite launch services since 1990 through the PSLV, launching 319 customer satellites from 33 countries. In September 2016, a PSLV injected 104 satellites into orbit — a world record.

To enable India’s maturing space industry to scale up high-technology manufacturing, and to encourage the development of a production base that could meet the needs of the Indian space programme, Isro formed a separate commercial entity, NSIL.

Isro set up NSIL with the stated mission of “enabling Indian industries to scaled up a high-technology manufacturing base for the space programme through technology transfer mechanisms, catering to emerging global commercial small satellite launch service market, satellite services for various domestic and international application needs and enabling space technology spin-offs for betterment of mankind through industry interface.”

NSIL is now an “A” category company under the Department of Space. It is the nodal agency for PSLV production by Indian industry consortiums. In addition, to cater to the emerging global small satellite launch service market, it has taken up the development of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle through Indian industry.

As part of its mandate NSIL had invited Expression of Interest on August 16, 2019, for realisation of five PSLV-XL Launch Vehicles by Indian industry. Based on competitive bidding the HAL-led consortium emerged as the successful bidder.