President to inaugurate HAL’s Integrated Cryogenic Engine Manufacturing Facility

Bengaluru: President Draupadi Murmu will inaugurate the state-of-the-art Integrated Cryogenic Engine Manufacturing Facility (ICMF) of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

The complete rocket engine manufacturing facility under one roof for the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will boost self-reliance in manufacturing high-thrust rocket engines.

It is set up in an area of ​​4500 square meters with more than 70 hi-tech equipment and testing facilities for manufacturing Cryogenic (CE20) and Semi-cryogenic (SE2000) engines of Indian Space Launch Vehicles.

An MoU was signed with ISRO in 2013 to set up a facility for manufacturing cryogenic engine modules at HAL’s aerospace division. The MoU for the cryogenic engine facility was later modified in 2016 for the manufacture of ICMF at Rs. 208 crores.

While the commissioning of all critical equipment for the fabrication and assembly requirement has been completed, pre-production activities which include preparation of process plan, drawings, quality plan etc. have also commenced. HAL will start realizing the module by March 2023.

HAL (Aerospace Division) manufactures liquid propellant tank and launch vehicle structures of PSLV, GSLV Mk-II, GSLV Mk-III and also stage integration for GSLV Mk-II. Aerospace Division foraying into manufacturing of cryogenic engines is a major step towards technology upgradation cum modernisation.

Cryogenic engines are the most widely used engines worldwide in launch vehicles. Due to the complex nature of cryogenic engines, to date only a few countries, the US, France, Japan, China and Russia, have mastered cryogenic technology.

On 5 January 2014, India successfully flew GSLV-D5 with cryogenic engine (manufactured by ISRO through private industries) and became the sixth country to develop cryogenic engine. Future space exploration is dependent on cryogenic technology.

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