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Godrej Aerospace Factory has been one of the largest manufacturers and suppliers of ISRO’s since 1985. (PTI/File)
About 1,300 kilometers from the Sriharikota space station, the Godrej Aerospace facility in Mumbai will fuel a specific component of the lunar mission – the Vikas engine dedicated to the late astronomer and physicist Vikram Sarabhai.
All eyes of the world will be on Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh state on Friday as the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launches the Chandrayaan-3 moon mission. About 1,300 kilometers from the space station, a facility in Mumbai will power a component of the lunar mission – the Vikas engine intended for the late astronomer and physicist Vikram Sarabhai.
The engine is manufactured by Godrej Aerospace which is located in a green area along the Eastern Express Highway on the outskirts of Vikhroli. The plant has been one of ISRO’s largest private manufacturers and suppliers since 1985. Godrej Aerospace has also had major contributions to the Chandrayaan-1 and 2 and Mangalyaan missions, along with involvement in other ISRO endeavors.
Chandrayaan-3, scheduled for liftoff at 2:35 p.m. Friday, will be a follow-up mission after Chandrayaan-2’s September 2019 crash landing due to a software glitch. This will be India’s third lunar mission and it is among the few countries that have undertaken such an ambitious project.
The Vikas engine is installed in the upper part of the rocket. The basic structures, obtaining sheets of various shapes and welding them to shape them for the rocket were done at the Godrej Aerospace unit. Laser technology is adopted for steel plate cutting and forming.
According to the engineers working at the facility, it takes about five months to prepare an engine, and every month a engine is sent to ISRO according to requirements. Once these units are ready, they are transported at a slow speed of 20 kmph via road, which takes about 10-14 days to reach Thiruvananthapuram from Mumbai.
Even the cryogenic engine, which will help put the lunar module into Earth orbit, has been prepared at this plant. The satellite is being assembled in Thiruvananthapuram.
“We have come a long way since this plant and partnership started in 1985. A few decades ago, for the CE-20, which is rather referred to as a cryogenic engine, we had to rely on other countries. But now India has made tremendous progress in space technology and space missions, These engines are being produced in-country as part of Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” said Maneck Behramkamdin, AVP and Business Head at Godrej Aerospace.
“In the past nine years, India has witnessed a quantum leap in its space sector, which has put it on par with countries like the US who started their space journey much earlier. The focus of the government is on engagement,” said Anil Verma, CEO and CEO of Godrej & Boyce. Public-private collaboration has led to collaborations between leading space organizations such as NASA and ISRO, with ISRO now working with nearly 150 private startups.
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