The rig transporting the gigantic industrial autoclave for the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) finally made it to Vattiyoorkavu around 5 a.m. on Monday, completing over a 1,300-km journey from Ambarnath in Maharashtra that started nine months ago.
The final leg of the journey, which was quite a super-slow crawl from Museum in the city to the Composites Entity at Vattiyurkavu, began by 11 a.m. on Sunday.
People lined up the street to watch the snail-paced progress. VSSC officials were hoping that the autoclave would arrive by Sunday evening, but the rig encountered numerous hurdles on the short stretch. Low-hanging branches, overhead cables, and choke-points in the form of narrow junctions, delayed its arrival. In several places along the route, overhead cables had to be temporarily removed on Sunday night to let the vehicle through.
The 70-tonne autoclave manufactured by Unique Chemoplant Equipments, Nasik, at its Ambarnath facility will enable easier and cost-effective manufacture of large, light-weight structures for launch vehicles and satellites.
Real work
For the VSSC, the real work is about to begin. Atop the rig, the cylindrical autoclave is mounted on a metallic frame welded on to guarantee safe transport.
This will be separated so that the vehicle can return. The VSSC is now awaiting the arrival of a special hydraulic crane from outside the district that will lift the autoclave and mount it inside the facility.
