ISRO to begin rocket launches from Tamil Nadu spaceport next year
Construction is progressing at the Kulasekharapatnam facility after the Tamil Nadu government acquired almost 2,300 acres of land.
Rocket launches from the Kulasekharapatnam spaceport will commence next year, according to Deccan Chronicle, as ISRO chief V Narayanan announced on Thursday.
Speaking in Chennai, Narayanan said construction work at the new launch pad is progressing successfully. The Tamil Nadu government has acquired almost 2,300 acres of land and handed it over to the agency for the project.
The second spaceport in India is located in Kulasekharapatnam, a coastal village in the Tuticorin district of Tamil Nadu. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the facility on February 28, 2024.
Narayanan shared these updates while unveiling a full-sized statue of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin at the Periyar Science and Technology Centre. He was joined by Russian Consul General Valerii Khodzhaev and Executive Director Shanmugasundaram.
The ISRO chief also expressed gratitude to Russia for supporting the Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission. Khodzhaev noted that the statue inauguration reflects Russia-India cooperation in the space sector.
Regarding the NVS navigation satellite, Narayanan confirmed it was successfully moved into a 36,000-kilometre circular orbit. He stated the satellite is currently healthy and requires in-orbit payload testing before becoming operational.