Indian Space agency strives to build vehicle for heavier payloads

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is proposing aerospace industry players to collaborate with them on the development of a reusable rocket, capable of carrying heavier payloads into orbit.

According to ISRO Chairman Shri S. Somanath, the design works for the new rocket, dubbed the "Next-Generation Launch Vehicle" (NGLV), are already ongoing, The Telegraph India reported.

"The intent is to bring industry along in the development process. All the money need not be invested by us. We want the industry to invest to create this rocket for all of us", the chairman explained.

He said the rocket is planned to have a capacity of carrying 10 tons of payload into the Earth’s geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) or 20 tons into the lower earth orbit.

Another ISRO official said the new rocket would be helpful as India is planning to launch its own space station by 2035 with the intent of carrying out deep space missions, human space flights, cargo missions and putting multiple communication satellites into orbit at the same time.

The NGLV is envisioned as a simple, robust machine designed for bulk manufacturing that will make space transportation more cost-effective.

Chairman Somanath said the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), ISRO's warhorse rocket, was based on the technology developed in the 1980s and cannot be used to launch rockets in the future.

ISRO plans to have the design of the NGLV ready within a year with its first launch scheduled for 2030.

The NGLV could be a three-stage rocket powered by green fuel combinations such as methane and liquid oxygen or kerosene and liquid oxygen.

India's space economy is estimated at $9.6 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow to $12.8 billion by 2025, according to the ISpA-Ernst&Young report titled "Developing the Space Ecosystem in India: Focusing on Inclusive Growth".