The first fully Indian industry-manufactured Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), ISRO’s workhorse, will be launched by December 2024. Also, progress is being made to manufacture India’s heaviest rocket LVM-3. PSU NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) chairman D.Radhakrishnan in Bengaluru’s CII ISRO Space expo on Wednesday said, “The business model for PSLV production was like a supply order, as it was the first attempt to let the industry take on the responsibility of manufacturing the vehicle.”
It is important to mention that NSIL had signed an agreement with the HAL-L&T consortium to manufacture five PSLVs. Radhakrishnan said that the PSU aims to increase the number of vehicles produced annually. The PPP model would better encourage private industry participation. NSIL is looking at private players for LVM-3 to meet the growing demand for satellite launches.
“India and France have built wide collaborations working closely across various domains of the space sector with an emphasis on pressing global challenges. Started with launchers and engines, after 60 long years of association a lot of faith has been developed between ISRO and the French space agency- Centre National d’Etudes Spatiale (CNES).” Stated by Philippe Baptiste, President of the French Space Agency CNES at the space expo.
He said, “I am convinced that France and India will strengthen their scientific, technological, and industrial cooperation in space. Agencies, research labs, industry, and startups are ready.” Philippe further said that for Gaganyaan ISRO and CNES signed an agreement for cooperation in 2021. We are sharing a lot of experiences, and technicalities among astronauts of both countries. We are sharing our latest state-of-the-art expertise with ISRO. India-France joint satellite mission Trishna (Thermal InfraRed Imaging Satellite for High-resolution Natural Resource Assessment) should launch in less than 2 years, he added.
It is pertinent to mention that earlier 2024 PSU NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) and French satellite launch company Arianespace signed a long-term partnership agreement.