Bengaluru: India’s first human space mission Gaganyaan got a shot in the arm as Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has delivered the first hardware - a rocket booster for the launch of the flight. It was delivered to the Indian Space Research Organisation.
"The hardware, a booster segment, will be used in the heavy rocket for launching the country's first manned mission Gaganyaan into the earth's lower orbit with three Indian astronauts in 2021-22," a company official, a popular website reported.
Chairman of the state-run ISRO, K Sivan, received the hardware, which is the middle segment of the solid propellant rocket booster (S-200).
"The booster segment was produced at our Powai Aerospace manufacturing facility in Mumbai with a diameter of 3.2 metres, 8.5 metres in length and weighing 5.5 tonnes," the website added.
L&T, the Mumbai-based infrastructure conglomerate, is playing a vital role in powering the country's human space flight programme.
In another development, L&T also happens to be the lowest bidder for the construction of a bridge connecting Assam with Meghalaya. The construction of the bridge – 18kms in length – will be at a cost of approximately Rs 3000 crore.
The bridge will be across the river Brahmaputra.