Kulasekarapattinam Spaceport

Kulasekarapattinam Spaceport is the second spaceport of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), located in Kulasekarapattinam, a coastal village in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu, India. The facility is being constructed over 2,350 acres. , more than 90% of land has been acquired and the groundbreaking was done on 28 February 2024.

Location
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has operated the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota as its primary launch site since 1971. Its location on the Bay of Bengal provides a good launch azimuth corridor and ensures safety through rockets launched over the ocean. However, the launch corridor is inefficient for smaller rockets carrying payloads to a polar orbit (circling the Earth above the poles), since the island nation of Sri Lanka is directly to the South of Sriharikota. To avoid the risk of flying over another country, payloads for polar orbits are launched towards the East and follow a curved path to the South to avoid Sri Lanka's landmass. This maneuver is known as a Dogleg maneuver.

It utilizes significant fuel for smaller rockets. Small rockets, such as the SSLV, are specifically designed to efficiently launch smaller payloads. The additional fuel consumption for the curved trajectory compromises the rocket's cost and payload efficiency. To avoid this problem, ISRO is developing the Kulasekharapatnam Spaceport for launching payloads to polar orbits. Given its location, launches from Kulasekharapatnam can be launched directly South over the Indian Ocean without crossing any landmass for thousands of miles.

History
In 2011, a requirement for a new launch facility at Satish Dhawan Space Centre was expressed to meet future demands and as redundancy to existing facilities. Following this, in 2013 Kulasekarapattinam was proposed as a potential site for this launch facility by parliamentarians from state of Tamil Nadu citing advantages due to location, weather and proximity to ISRO facilities like LPSC.

However, due to programmatic delays the Third Launch Pad project was deprioritized as requirements to establish a new launch facility were not being met and existing facilities were augmented instead.

After ISRO began pursuing Small Satellite launch Vehicle (SSLV) project in 2017, the old proposal of Kulasekarapattinam launch site became relevant once again. After considering another site at western coast near state of Gujarat eventually Kulasekarpattinam was selected as the site to establish SSLV Launch Complex. Site survey began in May 2019 and around 2,500 acres of land was identified for acquisition. Land acquisition process for the launch facility began in November 2019.

On 28 February 2024, foundation stone was laid for construction of the new facility, with an area of 2,233 acres in Padukkapathu, Pallakurichi, and Mathavankurichi villages in Kulasekarapattinam and Sathankulam taluks of the Tuticorin district. The state government of Tamil Nadu completed land acquisition for project which will be built at an estimated cost of Rs 950 crore and aiming for readiness by 2026.

To mark the occasion ISRO launched a RH-200 Rohini Sounding Rocket from the launch complex at 13:40 (IST) on 28 February 2024. This was the first rocket launch from the spaceport. VSSC provided the rocket and the meteorological payload, while SDSC installed launch facilities including radars, launchers, and electronic systems.

Facilities
This spaceport will provide launchpads and support facilities for ISRO missions carrying payloads into polar orbits.