Second Launchpad Complex in Tamil Nadu to launch satellites in two years, says ISRO chief

ISRO also plans to conduct an unmanned test mission with humanoids as part of Gaganyaan mission, a GSLV launch, and launch of a commercial satellite from the US.

Chennai: Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Second Launch Complex (SLC) being built in Kulasekarapattinam in Thoothukudi district will be ready in two years for the launch of Small Satellites up to 500 kg, the agency’s chairman Dr V Narayanan said here on Monday. 

Speaking to reporters here after launching the S Ramakrishnan Centre of Excellence for Research in Fluid and Thermal Science (ISRO-IITM), Narayanan also said NISAR, the joint mission by the NASA and ISRO aimed at measuring Earth’s changing ecosystems, and dynamic surfaces, will be launched in a couple of months.  

Ramakrishnan was the former director of ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and an alumnus of IIT Madras. The new centre will promote self-reliance in advanced space technologies and attract global talent and research funding.

NISAR, the joint mission of ISRO and NASA, will observe Earth’s land and ice-covered surfaces globally with 12-day regularity on ascending and descending passes, sampling Earth on average every 6 days for a baseline 3-year mission.

In 2025, the ISRO plans to conduct an unmanned test mission with humanoids as part of the Gaganyaan mission, a GSLV launch, and the launch of a commercial satellite from the US, Narayanan added. 

“The SLC in Kulasekarapattinam is being built with various facilities. The foundation stone for the first facility was laid recently and in two years, within 24 months, the facilities will be commissioned and the first rocket will be launched. 

The SLC is being built at a cost of Rs 950 crore to facilitate the launch of small satellites close on the heels of the Centre allowing 100 per cent FDI in the space sector. 

ISRO scientists said the Kulasekarapattinam spaceport will help save fuel as satellites launched from here can directly travel towards south unlike those launched from Sriharikota which fly in the southeast direction after liftoff from the Sathish Dhawan Space Centre to avoid flying over Sri Lanka and takes a sharp manoeuvre towards the South Pole. 

In his speech at the event, Narayanan said the Cryogenic Engine technology was denied to India but today, the country has three different such engines with the third one being human-rated. 

“Only six countries in the world have this technology. We have made three world records in this technology, and we got it right in our third attempt. From the engine test to flight, we got it done in 28 months, while others took between 42 months and 18 years. Finally, we conducted the test in 34 days,” he added. 

Narayanan also asked IITs in the country to aim for winning at least a couple of Nobel Prizes. “I would like to hear that our scientists or scholars from the country, especially IITs, have won the Nobel Prize in my lifetime,” he added.