• The government targets the commissioning of Kulasekarapattinam spaceport in Tamil Nadu in FY 2026-27, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on August 20.

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

• The project is progressing steadily, with land acquisition largely complete save for a segment required to reroute the East-Coast Road.

 • The initial phase of preparing the site is finished, and construction has now begun on the crucial technical facilities needed for launch operations. 

• Financially, the project has been allocated Rs 985.96 crore, and as of July 31, 2025, a sum of Rs 389.58 crore has already been utilised.

• The primary advantage of the Kulasekarapattinam launch site lies in its strategic geographical location, which offers a major boost in payload capacity for specific missions compared to the existing Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR) in Sriharikota. 

• This new spaceport is specifically designed to enhance the performance of smaller launch vehicles, like ISRO’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), when deploying satellites into polar orbits. 

• After commissioning, the launches of SSLV and equivalent launch vehicles from Non-Government Entities (NGEs) are planned to be carried out from Kulasekarapattinam spaceport.

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.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)