HAL hands over parts for ISRO’s Mars mission
22 Sep 2012
State-run defence equipment maker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) said on Friday that it has fabricated spacecraft panels for the Indian Space Research Organisation's Mars orbiter mission and handed them over to the ISRO Satellite Centre in Bangalore.
The mission, scheduled to take off in November 2013, is aimed at studying the climate, geology, origin and evolution of the red planet, according to a HAL release.
"The satellite structure is an assembly of composite and metallic honeycomb sandwich panels with a central composite cylinder," HAL chairman R K Tyagi said.
The assembly work was carried out at HAL's aerospace division in Bangalore.
ISRO will build the other satellite sub-systems and scientific payload onto this structure. The completed satellite will ultimately embark on a voyage to orbit Mars, HAL said.
The space agency will integrate the sub-systems and scientific instruments with the spacecraft, which will be launched on board a heavy rocket (PSLV-XL) from its spaceport at Sriharikota, about 80 km northeast of Chennai.