New Delhi: Indian engineering behemoth Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has been associated with India’s Space Program for over five decades. In the development of the to-be-launched Chandrayaan-3, L&T said it had played a crucial role in the launch of LVM3-M4 – the spacecraft.

Chandrayaan-3, India’s third lunar exploration mission, will make India the fourth country to land its spacecraft on the surface of the moon and demonstrate the country’s ability for safe and soft landing on the lunar surface.

“In a hallmark achievement L&T has been involved in this mission starting from manufacturing of subsystems till mission tracking,” the company said in a statement Thursday.

The critical booster segments -- head end segment, middle segment and nozzle bucket flange, with a diameter of 3.2 meters -- were manufactured and proof pressure tested at L&T’s facility in Powai.

Other contributions to the mission include the supply of ground and flight umbilical plates, manufactured from L&T’s hi-tech Aerospace Manufacturing Facility at Coimbatore.

L&T also has been playing a key role in the system integration of Launch Vehicle for the Indian Space Program.

“We are privileged to partner with ISRO in nationally important space programmes for which L&T has contributed its remarkable engineering prowess, manufacturing expertise and skilled workforce. The Space sector is opening up for the Indian Industry and we will leverage this long association with ISRO to play a bigger role in Space Programmes of the future,” said AT Ramchandani, Executive Vice President and Head, of L&T Defence.

The countdown for the launch of the mission began on Thursday at 14:35:17 IST ahead of take-off on Friday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The spacecraft will be launched on a GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle.

“The space hardware was produced at L&T’s hi-tech Aerospace Manufacturing Facility fulfilling the stringent quality and timeline requirements for India’s third Moon mission. All these subsystems have been delivered ahead of schedule,” the company release said.

Larsen & Toubro is a USD 23 billion Indian multinational engaged in engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) projects, among others.

It operates in over 50 countries worldwide.

Larsen & Toubro achieved consolidated revenues of Rs 183,341 crore for the year ended March 31, 2023, recording a healthy year-on-year growth of 17 per cent, aided by strong execution of a large order book. International revenues during the year at Rs 68,787 crore constituted 38 per cent of the total revenue.

The company for the year ended March 31, 2023 posted a total consolidated Profit After Tax (PAT) of Rs 10,471 crore, registering a robust growth of 21 per cent compared to the previous year.