About Launching Facility

SDSC SHAR has the necessary infrastructure for launching satellite into low earth orbit, polar orbit and geostationary transfer orbit. The launch complexes provide entire support for vehicle assembly, fuelling, checkout and launch operations. Apart from these, it has facilities for launching sounding rockets meant for studying the earth's atmosphere.

First Launch Pad:

The individual stages of PSLV or GSLV, their subsystems and the spacecraft are ready and checked out in separate facilities before they are sent to launch pad for integration A-76-meter tall mobile service tower (MST) facilitates the vertical integration of the vehicle.

The foldable working platforms of MST provide access to the vehicle at various elevations. An enormous launch pedestal, made up of steel plates, acts as the base on which the vehicle is integrated.

The spacecraft is integrated to the vehicle in a clean room, set up inside the MST. However, in the case of GSLV, the spacecraft is interfaced with the payload adopter and then encapsulated in the heat shield in the preparation facility itself.

The encapsulated assembly is moved to the launch pad for integrating with the 3rd stage of GSLV. The umbilical tower houses the feed lines for liquid propellants and high-pressure gases, checkout cables, and frozen air duct for supplying cool air to the satellite and equipment bay.

The Antrix Co operation

Antrix Corporation Limited is a wholly owned by Government of India Company under the administrative control of the Department of Space, Government of India.

Antrix Corporation Limited was incorporated as a private limited company owned by Government of India, in September 1992 as a Marketing arm of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for promotion and commercial exploitation of space products, technical consultancy services and transfer of technologies developed by ISRO.

Another major objective is to facilitate development of space related industrial capabilities in India.

As the commercial & marketing arm of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Antrix is engaged in providing Space products & services to international customers worldwide. Antrix, which is an INR 950 Cr. Company in 2007-08, got the "Miniratna" status by the Government of India in 2008.

With fully prepared state-of-the-art facilities, Antrix is a one-stop-shop for any of the space products, ranging from supply of hardware and software including simple subsystems to a complex spacecraft, for varied applications covering communications, earth observation, scientific missions; space related service including remote sensing data series, Transponders lease service; Launch services through the operational launch vehicles (PSLV and GSLV); Mission support services; and a host of consultancy and training services are also offered by Antrix.

Technoloy Transfer And Industry Co-operation

The Indian space program has been pursuing a logical and well defined policy for transfer of know how products / technologies developed by the Indian Space Centers. The objectives have been manifold, viz., to facilitate greater participation of Indian industries in various space projects, their applications in the commercial domain and to take benefit of ‘Spin-Offs’ of such technologies.

Accomplishment of this policy has yielded considerable results in terms of gearing up significant industrial participation in the space programme through provision of various products and services by industry relevant to applications involving space systems such as satellites, communications, broadcasting, meteorological services and geospatial information services, as well as the technology transfer from ISRO.

The technology transfer mechanism established during early eighties enables licensing of know-how from various ISRO centers for commercial exploitation. Over 290 technologies have been successfully transferred and productionised in industries in the fields of electronic and computer based systems, speciality polymer, chemicals and materials, electro optical instruments, mechanical equipments and ground systems related to satellite communications, broadcasting and meteorology. Industries in the large, medium and small scale sectors have largely been beneficiaries of the technology transfer scheme.

ISRO has executed over 270 consultancy projects in high technology areas to provide support to various industries.

Simultaneously, ISRO has been investing in developing a patent portfolio, which now consists of over 250 patents, 35 copyrights and 10 trademarks. Even in this area, while ISRO’s objective has been to safeguard the technologies developed in ISRO Centers, the approach has been turned towards enabling maximal commercial exploitation of such resources through suitable technology transfers or licensing schemes.