Private firms keen on working with Isro for manufacturing rockets: Official

Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) effort to bring in private players into rocket manufacturing activities has seen industries showing interest to work with the organisation on high energy material, such as propellants, high explosives and others, which is a difficult process, said A Rajarajan, director, Satish Dhawan Space Center (SDSC), ISRO. 

He said that while private companies are already involved in manufacturing parts for the organisation, working on high technical manufacturing is a different ballgame altogether which takes almost 12 tonnes of propellent in one stage and then bringing it to the launch pad requires huge inventory.

“Around 60 to 70 per cent of the fuels for rockets that leave the atmosphere is spent in the first 80 km to escape earth’s gravity, depending upon the technology. This calls for further research and we have reached a fair amount of efficiency in solid propellants and we are proud that we are among the leading nations in the world in this technology," he said. 

However, there should be more research on improving the performance of high energy materials. The SDSC is the largest producer of solid propellants in the country, producing nearly 2,000 tonne and is gearing up to 6,000 tonne of solid propellent with a built in capacity of around 6,500 tonne. It requires a huge inventory to work on these projects.

"It is glad to know that industries are coming forward to work in our premises. For the first time we are also going for the productionisation of all stages in the industry. They have come forward to do work in such a highly technical area. It is another ballgame altogether, almost taking 12 tonne of propellent in one stage and bringing it to SHAR (Sriharikota Range) and launching it in our Space Port," he said. 

He was speaking at the High Energy Materials Conference and Exhibit 2019 organised by Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) in collaboration with Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR, and High Energy Materials Society of India (HEMSI).

HEMSI is a pioneering society committed to the cause of development of the High Energy Materials like rocket propellants, explosives and pyrotechnics. The society has an active membership of more than 1000 scientists, technologists and academicians.