The consortium of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Larsen and Toubro built the first PSLV rocket within the country, and it is planning to launch the Oceansat satellite early next year, a senior L&T official told PTI.

"We have started delivering the PSLV hardware. We are hopeful that next year we will probably have two or three launches," A T Ramchandani, Senior Vice President and Head of L&T Precision Engineering and Systems, told PTI while attending the India International Space Conclave held by the Indian Space Association.

Ramchandani recently took over as Chairman of the Indian Space Association, which represents the space industry across the country.

In 2022, ISRO signed a contract with HAL and L&T consortium for the complete production of five PSLV XL rockets. This agreement is part of ISRO’s plan to shift the manufacturing of its trusted launch vehicles to industry partners so that it can focus more on new missions and research.

"ISRO feels that the demand for satellites is high. And we may end up doing another ten launches after these five," Ramchandani said, explaining that the space agency wants to step back from PSLV manufacturing and support industry-driven production.

Ramchandani said that the first PSLV built by the HAL and L&T consortium is expected to launch the Oceansat satellite early next year.

He said that the consortium faced some challenges while making certain launch system components, but ISRO stepped in to help resolve the issues.

He also said that many domestic and international clients have started reaching out with inquiries about possible launch opportunities.

"A lot of companies are now reaching out to us. People are realising that we are part of the game. Today, we have also not stepped out, reaching out to customers. But I suppose that is the next step after a couple of launches," he said.

ISRO also transferred the technology for the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) to HAL, which will now fully own and operate the SSLV business.