India To Gets Its Second Space Port

The new site will be ready in another two years…

On Wednesday, 28 February 2024, India's spacefaring efforts will receive a significant boost.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lays the foundation stone for the country's second launch site in Kulasekharapatnam, located in the Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu.

The small rocket community in India, both at ISRO and startups, is buzzing with excitement over the new launch pad, anticipating increased efficiency in launching small rockets.

The country had a single spaceport situated at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh till now, from where all rockets launching satellites into space were deployed.

India has conducted 95 launches from Sriharikota till now, with 80 of them deemed successful.

Named the Satish Dhawan Space Center, it had humble beginnings in 1971 with the launch of an RH-125 sounding rocket.

Recently, the center has been preparing for the launch of Gaganyaan, India's human space flight effort. Positioned as one of the southernmost rocket ports globally, the Satish Dhawan Space Center enjoys a clear advantage, but it also faces some drawbacks.

For rockets launching southward or in polar trajectories, the land mass of Sri Lanka poses a safety concern, preventing rocket debris from falling on foreign soil.

To mitigate this, ISRO has historically performed a special 'dogleg maneuver' maneuver to bypass Sri Lanka during direct southward launches.

This maneuver incurs a penalty but is manageable for larger rockets like PSLV, GSLV, and LVM-3, where ample fuel is carried.

However, as India masters the launch of smaller rockets like the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), which can carry satellites weighing up to 500 kilograms, the limitations of using Sriharikota as the preferred launch site become apparent.