Truck carrying 70 tonnes of aerospace machine took a year to reach Kerala from Maharashtra
A truck, carrying an aerospace horizontal autoclave reached Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, a year after starting from Maharashtra. The massive truck started its journey from Nashik, Maharashtra in July 2019 and travelled across four states to finally reach its destination today.
Fundamentally, the truck is carrying a machine called an aerospace autoclave to the VSSC. The machine weighs 70 tonnes and has a height of 7.5 meters and width of 6.65 meters. For its giant size and space it requires, then it is tough to move the truck through the ordinary roads and therefore, it primarily moved for 5 kilometres a day only, reports Live Mint.
"We're using a rope to carry cargo's weight. It's being pulled by two axels, front & back, both have 32 wheels each & puller has 10 wheels. Puller is pulling it all. Drop deck weighs 10 tonnes and cargo weighs 78 tonnes. Weight is being distributed in two axels," a cargo staff told Live Mint.
Meanwhile, the truck's journey also got extended due to severe lockdowns imposed in the country due to the novel coronavirus outbreak since March 25.
The aerospace autoclave is manufactured in Nasik and being carried to the VSSC centre in Vattiyoorkavu. The machine is used for making various equipment for the space research projects of the country. The machine will be brought to the centre in Vattiyoorkavu and commissioned by the end of this month, said VSSC authorities.
As per the staff, due to the height of the machine, they were unable to transport it via Cargo in a ship and thus had to choose the road.
Moreover, with triple lockdown (enhanced restrictions) imposed in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation area amid Covid-19, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) will function with the required minimum essential staff.
