Pune-based heavy engineering firm Walchandnagar Industries Ltd (WIL) has a double reason to cheer after Chandrayaan-3 successfully landed on the lunar surface as some of the critical booster segments used in its launch vehicle have been manufactured and tested at the facility, the firm said.
The firm in a release issued on Wednesday said it has been a critical part of the success trajectory of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the last 50 years and played a key role at the time of the launch of Chandrayaan-3.
Chandrayaan-3
In a giant leap for its space programme, India's Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the lunar south pole at 6.04 pm on Wednesday, propelling the country to an exclusive club of four and making it the first country to land on the uncharted surface.
Taking a billion dreams to the Moon in India's second attempt in four years, Chandrayaan-3's four-legged lander Vikram with the 26-kg rover Pragyan in its belly, made the soft landing near the south polar region of the Moon.
"It was at WIL's exclusive facility that the critical booster segments S200 used in the LVM3 launch vehicle of the Chandrayaan-3 mission were manufactured and proof pressure tested (specifically the 3.2 diameter dimensions of the head end, middle, and nozzle end segments)," said a release quoting the firm's Managing Director and CEO Chirag Doshi.
He said the WIL's state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities with robust systems for quality and reliability help them comply with the stringent ISRO specifications to ensure success.
"We are also extremely proud of our contribution to all the earlier prestigious missions like Mangalyaan, Chandrayaan-1 & 2 and now 3, SLV 3, ASL, PSLV, GSLV MKII, MKIII, to name a few," Doshi said.
He said the successful launch of Chandrayaan-3 was a fitting golden jubilee milestone of the WIL-ISRO partnership.
"Today we feel proud as Vikram lander gracefully touched down on the lunar surface on Wednesday," he said.
The company said Chandrayaan-3 is another testament to the firm's 115 years of legacy of nation-building and a deep resolve to take India forward to greater heights.
"As trusted partners, we are proud to be an integral part of India's pride - ISRO and we look forward to contributing further to its remarkable journey of success," Doshi said.
