Nearly 83%, or 1,950 out of 2,350 acres, of land has been acquired for the construction of India's second space port. Situated in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Kulasekarapattinam is the location of the second spaceport that India is building for the country's space programme. Speaking in the Upper House of the Indian Parliament, Dr Jitendra Singh, who serves as Minister of State for Science and Technology, revealed that the process of acquiring land was underway via the Government of Tamil Nadu.
"The existing manpower is planned to be re-deployed initially to oversee the establishment of the essential facilities at the spaceport and also to carry out the critical launch-related activities," the Minister said.
Estimates suggest that the second spaceport would be ready for launches by 2024 or 2025.
Land acquisition has commenced for the satellite launch station of ISRO at Kulasekarapattinam in Thoothukudi District. This launching station will be established at an estimated investment of Rs.1000 crore. This new infrastructure along with the existing Propulsion Complex of ISRO at Mahendragiri will further enhance the State’s prominent position in the space sector.
Range safety considerations form an important parameter for launch site preference. From this consideration it is best to avoid overflying the Sri Lankan Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) extending 200 nautical miles (370.4 km) from the coast. It is found that a due south launch from Wheeler Island comfortably meets this criterion. Launch from Kulasekarapattinam falls short of clearing the EEZ (the Western Tip of Sri Lanka is about 180 km from the southerly line from Kulasekharapattinam). If the launch vehicle can be mounted on a TEL type of platform, its mobility will be an added feature for managing multiple launches and can add to the capacity building exercise. It may be worthwhile to explore the possibility of overflying the Sri Lankan EEZ through discussions at the political and diplomatic level.
Construction activity at the Indian Space Research Organisation’s proposed space port at Kulasekarapattinam will begin shortly after getting mandatory clearance from the Union government and security agencies, ISRO chairman S. Somanath has said.
“Since the residential colonies are 10 km away from the Sriharikota launch pad, we can launch heavier payloads (bigger satellites) there. However, the upcoming site has houses within 2 km so that this site will be suitable for launching smaller satellites into the orbit,” he said.
As land acquisition has been completed, Mr. Somanath visited the proposed launch site at Koodal Nagar near Kulasekarapattinam along with senior officials of ISRO and Collector K. Senthil Raj on Thursday evening.
Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota range (SHAR) is the main launch centre of ISRO located in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh which is 100km from both Chennai and Nellore. SHAR with two launch pads has the facility for processing solid propellants, static testing of solid motors, integration of launch vehicle, range and launchoperation, contain mission control centre and telemetry, tracking and telecommand network. SHAR has three ground-based vehicle Telecommand systems. The application of ground based TeleCommand (TC) chains in SHAR is to continuously uplink the SAFE command in case of nominal flight path whereas destruct command sequence is to be uplinked towards the launch vehicle which is deviating from the safety zone. The proposed systems will be used as a part of new commanding requirement for Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) Launch Complex (SLC) Site at Kulasekarapatnam, Tamilnadu. As per the range safety requirement, minimum three chains of TC are essential at launch base for continuous up-linking of RSO selected command towards the launch vehicle during real-time.
It is planned to realize three new TC chains with identical configuration to continuously command the vehicle under specified operating conditions. The three new TC chains are proposed to be designed and developed using state-of-the-art technology to achieve increased reliability, availability and maintainability.
3.4 The rate quoted shall be on FOR SLC Site, Kulasekarapatnam, Tamilnadu basis.
3.9 All communication and evaluation will be with SDSC SHAR and delivery, installation, commissioning and testing will be at SLC site at Kulasekarapatnam, Tamilnadu
This RFP covers the technical specifications and other conditions for Design, Fabrication, Integration, Testing, Supply and Commissioning of Vehicle Telecommand systems for SSLV project at SLC, Kulasekaraptnam, Tamilnadu.
For this, 2,300 acres of land has been acquired and the preliminary land surveying work has been completed.
Following this, the second phase of construction of barrier fences is currently underway. Officials have said that the work of erecting barrier fences in places like Kudalnagar, Madhavankurichi, Amarapuram etc. is actively going on.
In this situation today ISRO chief Somnath from Nellie Mahendragiri visited Kulasekharapatnam and personally visited and inspected the place where the rocket launch pad is to be set up in Kudalnagar area. After that he held a consultation with the officials of the department regarding the work of setting up the launch pad.
The ISRO chief said that the construction work would be completed within two years and the space research center would be ready in two years.
CHENNAI: The state will be finalising tenders for the development of Space Industrial Park and Propellant Park near ISRO’s new spaceport complex in Kulasekarapattinam, Thoothukudi. Tenders were floated recently and evaluation is underway. The tenders will probably be finalised by next month, vice-president (aerospace and defence), Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation, P Madhusoodhanan said.
“This park will complement ISRO’s proposed 2,150-acre Kulasekarpattinam rocket launch complex. The consultant will conduct a study on market demand, type of industries needed, potential players, etc. One park will be for propellants and other for other segments, including satellites, assembly, etc,” Madhusoodhanan said.
“The entire design of the launch complex is completed and getting ready for tendering. We are also exploring the option of allowing private launches without completing the full construction. The launch pad will be fully operational in two years,” Somanath said.
THOOTHUKUDI: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has appealed to MSME entrepreneurs in the district to gear up for tapping business opportunities that would arise soon as the ISRO's new rocket launching project is coming up at Kulasekarapattinam. Addressing media persons on Thursday after chairing the second edition of the MSME conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Thoothukudi, ISRO spokesperson N Sudheer Kumar said the land acquisition process for the Kulasekarapattinam spaceport project is almost over and a tender for the construction contract will be floated soon.
"We can expect a full-fledged spaceport equipped with the launch pad, to be established here in a few years. Small satellites will be flown from here. So, this will provide opportunities for the MSMEs in the district to flourish. There is a huge demand for improving basic infrastructure, transport, construction, and supply of food and raw materials. At least 1,000 people will receive work during the construction period. When it comes to operations, demand for operational support, maintenance support, and spare parts supply will increase and boost business potential, maybe, in another five to six years," he added.
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh informs that the government has approved the establishment of a new spaceport in Kulasekarapattinam, Tamil Nadu for carrying out the launches of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicles (SSLV) developed by ISRO.Indian Space Policy 2023 that has the provision for utilization of spaceport for carrying out launch activities by Non-Government Entities (NGEs), subject to technical feasibility and range safety constraints.
The government of Tamil Nadu has acquired all but about 200 acres of the 2,350 acres of land for ISRO project that is earmarked for small rockets.
