The plant has dispatched special steel plates rolled in BSP which would be used in the satellite launch vehicle.
Bhilai, Chhattisgarh: The Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) is not only helping the national carriers Indian Railways by making railways tracks, but also sending required equipment for India’s first human space mission “Gaganyaan”, which will be used in the outer motor casing of the satellite launch vehicle.
The plant has dispatched special steel plates rolled in BSP which would be used in the satellite launch vehicle (SLV) for the ambitious mission. The latest lot of 40 tonnes of MIDHANI (Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited) slabs was rolled in presence of senior officials of MIDHANI and Vikram Sarabhai Space Research Centre (VSRC).
This is to be noted that the SAIL-BSP has been contributing to India’s space programme of launching satellites from time to time by rolling 250 slabs supplied by MIDHANI into 9.3 mm thick plates. The plates were used in outer motor casing of PSLV and GSLV satellite launch vehicles of ISRO, including SLV used for launching “Chandrayaan”. According to a BSP official, first plate from MIDHANI was rolled at Bhilai’s Plate Mill in October 2009 while second in February 2012. BSP has taken up the task of rolling of MDN 250 slabs on a regular basis. About 42 tonne MIDHANI slabs was reheated and successfully rolled into plates of 9.3 mm thickness in January 2018.
He said as much as 102 tonne of MDN slabs were rolled into plates and supplied during the financial year 2018-19, while 148 tonne of this grade of plates have so far been rolled in current fiscal 2019-20, which includes the latest lot rolled earlier this month, for use in “Gaganyaan”.
These forged slabs of special steel are of high strength and high-temperature resistance, consisting of a high percentage of expensive alloying elements. Utmost care is taken during re-heating of the slabs and rolling. The company officials had formulated stringent technological norms, which was followed by different BSP departments.
“Gaganyaan” is a Rs 10,000 crore project and the space agency has set a target to conduct the manned mission by 2022. ISRO Chairman K. Sivan has already announced that the organization has identified four astronauts who would be part of the mission. The astronauts are all from the Indian Air Force (IAF).