TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ Godrej & Boyce confirmed it would join an industry consortium being formed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) to build workhorse rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles (PSLVs) to send local and global satellites into space. The space agency has set 2020 as the deadline for the first privately built rocket to be launched into space.
“It is at a nascent stage right now. The discussions are going on how to form a consortium and who will do what,” said Jamshyd N Godrej, chairman, Godrej & Boyce. So far, Isro has built PSLV rockets used for the Moon and Mars missions on its own but has been constrained in scaling up to meet the growing global demand for launch services of smaller satellites.
Besides, it also has to devote resources to build heavier rockets, satellites and launch deep space missions. This has prompted the space agency to look at private firms to build PSLV rockets under its guidance. Godrej produces Vikas, the rocket engine that powers both the PSLV and the heavier Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), besides various systems such as antennae and thrusters for Isro.
