In a major development, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has successfully secured the bid for the transfer of technology for the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), ISRO’s rocket designed to place satellites weighing up to 500 kg into low Earth orbit. This announcement was made by Pawan Goenka, Chairman of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre, during a virtual press conference. Based in Bengaluru, HAL emerged as the sole bidder, surpassing two consortia led by Alpha Design Technologies, which is supported by Adani Defence Systems and Technologies, as well as state-owned Bharat Dynamics Limited. Goenka stated that ISRO will provide guidance to HAL for two years, during which the public sector unit is expected to develop two rockets based on the same design and supplier framework. After that, “HAL will be free to improve on the design and select its own vendors from the third rocket," Goenka noted.
What is SSLV
HAL's Director of Finance, B. Senapati, expressed pride in the achievement, highlighting the significance of winning the bid to manufacture the SSLV. This rocket is designed to launch small satellites into low Earth orbit on short notice, a crucial capability for the defense forces in emergency scenarios. The SSLV can launch satellites with a mass ranging from 10 kg to 500 kg into a circular orbit of 500 km.
The SSLV is structured as a three-stage launch vehicle, featuring all solid propulsion stages, along with a liquid propulsion-based Velocity Trimming Module (VTM) as its terminal stage. Key design focuses of the SSLV include cost-effectiveness, quick turnaround times, flexibility in accommodating multiple satellites, the feasibility of launch-on-demand, and minimal requirements for launch infrastructure.
Meanwhile, a dramatic explosion erupted at Elon Musk’s SpaceX testing facility in Massey, Texas, on June 18 (US time), resulting in the destruction of a Starship prototype and disrupting plans for the rocket system's tenth test flight. The incident occurred just prior to the scheduled critical static fire test for Ship 36—a procedure in which the rocket's engines are ignited while the vehicle remains securely anchored to the ground, serving as a final systems check before launch.
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