Gaganyan project: RSP supplies special steel for manned mission to Isro

Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) has supplied 30.5 tonne of maraging steel to be used in the upcoming 'Gaganayan project, the first indigenous manned mission of Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) to space, a company statement said.

Gautam Banerjee, ED (Works) of RSP, a unit of SAIL flagged off the plates in a function organised at Plate Mill department on Saturday. The plates rolled from 14 slabs were the first lot of the total order quantity, the RSP statement said. 

Maraging steel is a special quality steel containing nickel, cobalt, molybdenum, titanium and aluminium and is manufactured through vacuum melting process. Rolling of maraging steel requires very stringent process parameters, it said.

Generally any steel with higher strength will have low ductility and vice versa. But the significance of maraging steel is that it has got very high strength (to the tune of 5 -6 times of mild steel) along with good ductility.

Maraging steel is being used for the launch vehicle rocket motor casing and for other different defence applications. These maraging steel plates rolled in RSP were also used in the recently launched Chandrayan-II, it said.

Stating that the Plate Mill of RSP has been regularly rolling wide plates of maraging steel under a long term contract with Mishra Dhatu Nigam (Midhani), Hyderabad, the statement said these steels are used in PSLV and GSLV programmes of Isro.

The mill has so far rolled 2200 tonne of maraging steel and supplied to Midhani for the above purpose.

Stringent process parameters were followed and representatives from Midhani, Hyderabad and scientists from Isro were present during the rolling of the first phase plates at plate mill, the statement added.