Supply chain of Chandrayaan-3 mission

With a lift-off mass of nearly 3900 kgs, the Chandrayaan-3 mission exemplifies how modern supply chains function in the complex network of aerospace verticals.

“From a logistician’s perspective, an intricately woven supply chain behind the entire mission was one of the pivotal enablers of this remarkable endeavour,” writes supply chain specialist Vikas Pawar on ITLN.

As Chandrayaan-3 successfully took off on July 14, 2023, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, the mission’s progress across extensive cosmic distance was being watched with bated breath.

Given that the ghost of the failed landing of Chandrayaan-2 lingered in our minds, the success of this edition would symbolize a momentous step forward for us as a nation.

In general, every space mission's supply chain involves various stages and components, be it design and development, scientific instruments and optimal payloads, or integration and testing.

The entire mission was done at a frugal budget of ₹615 crore, approximately US$ 80 million. Talk about maintaining an optimal balance between supply chain complexity and system costs!

Based on the available data from 2020, ISRO has more than 11,000 suppliers registered and approved on its e-procurement site.

With emphasis on indigenous manufacturing and local sourcing, procurement happens domestically, mostly concentrated around 13 key states.

Among these active suppliers are the who’s who of the Indian manufacturing sector. Larsen & Toubro (L&T) along with public-sector behemoths, Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL), Mishra Dhatu Nigam (Midhani) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

Aerospace components often require specialized expertise and facilities for manufacturing, leading to a limited pool of capable suppliers, which can result in supply chain vulnerabilities and potential disruptions.

In their public statements related to the Chandrayaan story, company executives talked about how all the subsystems had been delivered to ISRO ahead of schedule.

The success of Chandrayaan mission is not just about space exploration. It ushers a new era of aerospace supply chain in India.

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