SAIL is sailing steel plates for Gaganayan

State-owned SAIL has supplying special grade steel plates to Gaganayan. Company’s Bhilai unit is to produce for the country's first human space mission program Gaganyaan stated by a company official.In addition, SAIL's Rourkela Steel Plant has also supplying MDN 250(maraging steel) grade special steel for the ambitious project.Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has contributed to the Gaganyaan space mission and has successfully produced plates to be used in the satellite launch vehicle (SLV) said SAIL's Bhilai Steel Plant (SAIL-BSP) CEO Anirban Dasgupta told PTI.

A consignment of 40 ton of MDN 250 grade slabs rolled into plates. The work has been started from 1^st February said Dasgupta. The ambitious Gaganyaan mission was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Independence Day speech in 2018."Stringent technological norms were formulated and followed by entire collective of plate mill and other concerned departments of SAIL along with several other associated departments. The slabs (were) supplied by Misra Dhatu Nigam Ltd (MIDHANI)," he said. Dasgupta further said that "these forged slabs of special steel of very high strength and high temperature resistance consisting of high percentage of expensive alloying elements were rolled into thinner plates of 9.3 mm thickness." Earlier also  the company had supplied special steel from its Salem Steel Plant (SSP) for ISRO's Chnadrayaan 1 and Chandrayaan 2 and Mangalyaan mission.