Bengaluru, State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) supplied a rocket part (L-40 stage) to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for launching satellites in the geo-stationary orbit onboard GSLV Mark-2, the aerospace major said on Friday.
“We handed over the 50th stage of the heavy rocket — Geo Synchronous Launch Vehicle (GSLV-MKII) to ISRO for its F-12 flight that will carry a satellite into the geo-synchronous orbit in August,” the defence behemoth said in a statement here.
As a tier-one partner in the country’s growing space industry, the city-based HAL supplied the critical rocket part to the space agency’s 11 flights so far, including GSLV-Mark-2 F-10 due for launch in March.
“Besides making the integrated part, we manufacture riveted structures, propellant tanks, feedlines of polar and geostationary launch vehicles (PSLV and GSLV variants) and structures of various satellites,” said the company.
The hardware vendor has been associated with the space agency’s diverse projects, including two Chandrayaan (moon) and one Mangalyaan missions.
HAL will also be associated with ISRO’s maiden manned mission (human flight) Gaganyaan, which will carry three Indian astronauts into the earth’s lower orbit for a week in 2022.