Chandrayaan-2 lifts off to space from a launch pad made in Ranchi’s HEC

After manufacturing the launch pad for Chandrayaan mission, the Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) in Ranchi will now produce folding platforms and horizontal doors for Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

The ₹31-crore order is part of the space agency’s PSLV (polar satellite launch vehicle) integration facility project, said HEC company secretary Abhay Kanth.

The launch pad used for lifting off the Chandrayaan-2 to the space from Sriharikota in Andhra on Monday was manufactured in Ranchi’s HEC. Not just the Chandrayaan-2, the same launch pad was used for Chandrayaan-1 mission in 2008, besides more than 100 other satellites, HEC official said.

HEC had manufactured five major components for the Chandrayaan mission in 2008. It manufactured mobile launch pad (MLP), tower crane, horizontal sliding doors, 400 tonne EOT crane and folding-cum-vertically repositionable platforms for assembly of launch vehicles.

Giving details, Kanth said HEC had executed the design, manufacture and erection of the mobile launch pedestal (MLP). The MLP, total weight of which was 800 tonne, comprised of nine modules which were fabricated at HEC and assembled at the launch site.

The MLP carries the integrated vehicle from the vehicle assembly building to the launch site in vertical position using a rail track and the launch takes place in the same position, HEC official said.

Detailing the works of other component, HEC official said the tower crane installed at the top of umbilical tower at a height of 80meter designed to sustain huge wind pressure. Horizontal doors at height of 47 meter designed to sustain cyclonic wind pressure and to safeguard the space vehicle assembly building. The folding-cum-vertically repositionable platform designed with a unique concept to enable vehicle assembly at different levels by adjusting the platform to that level.

Like thousands across the country, Jharkhand, too, cheered the launch of Chandrayaan-2. Thousands of people from across the state watched the launch live on television, as the heavy-lift rocket roared off into the skies.

Chandrayaan-2 will make India the fourth country after the United States of America, the erstwhile Soviet Union and China to land on the lunar surface. This will also be the first space mission to rove on the south pole of the moon looking for water, ice and cold traps that could preserve the history of our solar system.

CM hail Chandrayaan-2 launch

Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das hailed the launch of Chandrayaan-2 from Satish Dhwan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. “It’s a historic and unprecedented step of India in space. I would like to congratulate the scientists who made it possible,” Das said.