Kulasekarapattinam launch complex expected to be ready by Dec'26: ISRO Chief

Kulasekarapattinam (Tamil Nadu): The construction of the country's second launch complex here in Tuticorin district is expected to be over by December 2026 and there is a possibility of about 25 launches a year from the spaceport, ISRO Chairman V Narayanan has said. Speaking to reporters after participating in the Bhumi Puja for the launch pad here on Wednesday, he said the launch of satellites using a Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) that can carry a payload of 500 kg up to an altitude of 400 km, would be taken up from here. The complex is coming up on 2300 acres of land and would be the second such facility, the other being the one at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

"All the work will be over by December 2026--that is our target. We are planning a rocket launch by fourth quarter of next year. The Prime Minister will announce the correct launch date at the appropriate time," he said. "Annually there will be 20-25 satellite launches," he added. PM Modi, through video conferencing, laid the foundation stone for the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle Complex (SLC) at Kulasekarapattinam, a coastal village, in February 2024. The SSLVs are different from Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles (PSLVs) and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicles (GSLVs) which can carry heavier payloads and are generally used in deep space exploration programmes. The PSLVs and GSLVs are launched from India's first spaceport, Sriharikota. Besides Narayanan, senior officials of the Bengaluru-headquartered space agency, Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, A Rajarajan and other scientists took part in the foundation stone-laying ceremony.