On Wednesday, when Thrissur-based Vajra Rubber’s marketing director Kannan P S called Indian Space Research Organisation officials to congratulate them on the success of Mars Orbiter Mission entering the planet’s orbit, he was asked to be prepared for much larger orders now.

The Kerala-based little-known company is one among the 200-odd firms that supplied some parts or the other to Isro for the mission. The mission cost all of $74 million (Rs 450 crore) — a fraction of the $671-million (Rs 4,026 crore) that America’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) spent on its MAVEN spacecraft, which had reached Mars earlier this week. Notably, Isro also succeeded in its first attempt, which is no mean feat considering that those countries managed to make it only after several attempts. (JOURNEY TO RED PLANET)



“What Isro has demonstrated is the reliability of our system, and we should be able to leverage it now for launching remote-sensing and commercial satellites for others,” said S M Vaidya, business head of Godrej's aerospace division, which supplied the rocket’s engine and fuel-powered thrusters for the Indian Mars mission.

Antrix Corporation, the commercial wing of Isro, has got a big boost with this success, and it now expects large orders from the global market to build or launch commercial satellites. Isro has already launched three satellites in the past year for French and British companies.

“These are only stray examples till now; this should become routine and we should see more such satellites being launched every month. That is where we see the big boost to Indian private industries and Isro,” said Vaidya. According to him, it could open a Rs 5,000 crore a year opportunity.

These companies also expect that the success of the Mars mission will fetch them more orders from the defence sector.

Engineering company Larsen & Toubro (L&T), which has been a supplier to Isro for the past four decades, has the same view. “It (mission to Mars) has helped build a formidable image for India, and such businesses from other countries are naturally expected to grow in large volume,” says M V Kotwal, president (heavy engineering) at L&T, which has made parts worth $5.7 million for Isro in recent years.

L&T has also supplied $240 million worth of parts so far to ITER, an inter-governmental science experiment, which is building a thermonuclear reactor in southern France.

It is not just the private-sector companies that are benefiting. Public-sector enterprise Hindustan Aeronautics, too, has got a big boost. The company delivered a bare satellite structure and a deck panel to Isro. “Our differentiator is the cost effectiveness and reliability, as in the first attempt itself we have been successful, while other countries had to make several attempts. It talks about the quality of the work that we are doing and the components that are going inside,” said R K Tyagi, chairman of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. “It will naturally boost orders from other countries benefiting all the suppliers.”