• The Union government has approved the establishment of a new spaceport in Kulasekarapattinam, Tamil Nadu for carrying out the launches of Small Satellite Launch Vehicles (SSLV) developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

• It will be the country’s second spaceport after Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

• Land acquisition by the government of Tamil Nadu is in progress. Currently, out of the 2,350 acres of land identified, around 2,000 acres of land have been acquired. Once the acquisition of land is completed, the launch pad at the new site is expected to be realised.

• The government has announced the Indian Space Policy 2023 that has the provision for utilisation of spaceport for carrying out launch activities by Non-Government Entities (NGEs), subject to technical feasibility and range safety constraints.

• The Tamil Nadu government plans to set up space industrial and propellants park near the small satellite launch complex in Kulasekarapattinam.

The spaceport of India 

• Satish Dhawan Space Centre-Sriharikota Range (SDSC-SHAR) with two launch pads is the spaceport of India.

• The space centre, which was known as SHAR (Sriharikota Range) was renamed as Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR on September 5, 2002, in fond memory of Satish Dhawan, former chairman of ISRO.

• SDSC-SHAR is the backbone of ISRO in providing launch base infrastructure for the Indian space programme.

• It is situated on the eastern coast of the country. 

• SDSC-SHAR is located just above the equator on the northern latitude bounded by the vast Indian coastline, making it one of the most ideal launch sites in the world. 

• The centre has the facilities for solid propellant processing, static testing of solid motors, launch vehicle integration and launch operations, range operations comprising telemetry, tracking and command network and mission control centre. 

• The centre has two launch complexes — First Launch Pad (FLP) and the Second Launch Pad (SLP). 

• SDSC-SHAR has had a humble beginning in 1971 with the launch of an Rohini-125 small sounding rocket and the centre has come a long way ever since.

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