Cabinet Okays Development Of Next Generation Of Satellite Launch Vehicle

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the development of the Next-Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), which will be a significant step towards the government's vision of establishing & operating the Bharatiya Antariksh Station and towards developing capability for Indian crewed landing on the Moon by 2040, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said.

Mr Rijiju stated this in a post on social media 'X' and shared an official statement.

"NGLV will have 3 times the present payload capability with 1.5 times the cost compared to LVM3, and will also have reusability resulting in low-cost access to space and modular green propulsion systems," the statement said.

"Union Cabinet approves the development of New Re-usable Low-cost Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), which will be a significant step towards establishing & operating the Bharatiya Antariksh Station and developing capability for Indian Crewed Landing on the Moon by 2040," Mr Rijiju said on X.

The goals of the Indian space programme during the Amrit Kaal require a new generation of human-rated launch vehicles with high payload capability & reusability. Hence, the development of the NGLV is taken up which is designed to have a maximum payload capability of 30 tonnes to low earth orbit (LEO), which also has a reusable first stage. Currently, India has achieved self-reliance in space transportation systems to launch satellites up to 10 tonnes to LEO and 4 tonnes to Geo-Synchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) through the currently operational PSLV, GSLV, LVM3 & SSLV launch vehicles.

The NGLV development project will be implemented with maximal participation from the Indian industry, which is also expected to invest in the manufacturing capacity at the outset itself, thereby allowing a seamless transition to the operational phase subsequent to the development. NGLV will be demonstrated with three development flights (D1, D2 & D3) with a target of 96 months (8 years) for the completion of the development phase, the statement stated.

The total fund approved is Rs 8240.00 crore and includes the development costs, three developmental flights, essential facility establishment, programme management and launch campaign, it said.

The development of NGLV will enable national & commercial missions including the launch of human spaceflight missions to Bharatiya Antariksh Station, Lunar/inter-planetary exploration missions along with communication & earth observation satellite constellations to LEO that will benefit the entire space ecosystem in the country. This project will boost the Indian space ecosystem in terms of capability and capacity, the statement said.

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