BENGALURU: President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday inaugurated the Hindustan Aeronautical Limited’s (HAL) highly-ambitious Integrated Cryogenic Engine Manufacturing Facility (ICMF), which will cater to the entire rocket manufacturing and assembly under one roof for the Indian Space Research Organisation. The facility seeks to boost self-reliance in manufacturing high-thrust rocket engines.
The President said the inauguration of the facility is a historic moment not only for HAL and ISRO, but for the entire country. “India is the sixth country in the world to have cryogenic engine manufacturing capabilities.”, Murmu said.
The ICMF is set up over an area of 4,500 sq mts, housing over 70 hi-tech equipment and testing facilities for manufacturing Cryogenic- (CE20) and Semi-cryogenic Engines (SE2000) of Indian Space Launch Vehicles. With the establishment of the ICMF, India has joined the elite club of cryogenic engine manufacturing countries like the US, France, Japan, China & Russia.
‘HAL, ISRO reinforce our strategic defence’
Lauding the role of HAL and ISRO, the President said, “HAL and ISRO together contribute to strategic defence and development. Both organisations have played a major role in the development of various equipment and programmes which have reinforced the security and development of our country. HAL with its high-end facility of manufacturing defence-related equipment has proved to be an invaluable asset for our country.”
ISRO Chairman S Somanath said India can emerge as a superpower in rocket technology only with the help of HAL which has shown the ability to absorb complicated space technology with perfection.Referring to Bengaluru as Space City, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the state has contributed most of the space and defence related manufacturing activities to the country.
HAL, a Navratna defence PSU, stated that the commissioning of all the critical equipment for the manufacturing and assembly requirements is completed. The pre-production activities which involve the preparation of the process plans, drawings and quality plan have also commenced. HAL will start realising the modules by March 2023.
India successfully flew GSLV-D5 with a cryogenic engine made by ISRO through private industries on
January 5, 2014. In 2013, HAL and ISRO signed a memorandum of understanding for establishing the facility and it was subsequently amended in the year 2016 with an investment of Rs 208 crore towards setting up of the ICMF.
Meanwhile, President Murmu also virtually laid the foundation stone for the Zonal Institute of Virology (South Zone) of the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Bengaluru.