The central government has given a green signal and approved the construction of a new spaceport in Tamil Nadu’s Kulasekarapattinam for launching the Small Satellite Launching Vehicles (SSLV) developed by ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation). The Union Minister of Science and Technology, Jitendra Singh, said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.
Indian Space Policy (2023)
The Indian Space Policy 2023 has the provision for the utilisation of a spaceport for carrying out launch activities by Non-Government Entities subject to technical feasibility and range safety constraints.
The policy has been approved and released into the public domain. The Policy opens up the sector of enhanced participation of NGE across the entire value chain of the space economy while clearly delineating the roles of various stakeholders like ISRO, INSPACe, New Space India Limited and the Department of Space.
Significance of the Spaceport
Kulasekarapattinam will be used by private space companies to launch small satellites into orbit. On the new launch pad the ISRO is developing at Kulasekarapattinam in Thoothukudi district along the coast in Tamil Nadu, the ISRO chairman S Somnath has said that ninety-nine per cent of the 2000-acre land has been transferred to ISRO by the Tamil Nadu government.
“It takes at least two years to become fully functional after the commencement of the construction work. However, we will be able to conduct some sub-orbital launches from there,” he added.
Space Industrial Park
The Tamil Nadu government is planning to set up the Space Industrial Park and the Propellants Park near Thoothukudi to take advantage of the Centre’s move to build the port at Kulasekarapattinam Spaceport. In November, Srinath Ravichandran, co-founder of the Agnikul Cosmos, said that Kulasekarapattinam is a sweet spot for launching small satellites.
“There is no land between that place and Antarctica, It is a beautiful belt for launches. The rule is that you cannot fly over a land mass if you are in orbit. By the time you are flying over Antarctica, you are in orbit,” A cargo truck and four caravans are all that is required to launch small satellites, and Kulasekarapattinam is an ideal spot, he said.
Small Satellite Launch Vehicles (SSLV)
The Small Satellite Launch Vehicle is a three-stage launch vehicle that is configured with three Solid Propulsion Stages and a liquid propulsion-based Velocity Trimming Module as a terminal stage. It is 2 metres in diameter and 34 meters in length with a lift-off of weight around 120 tonnes.
It is capable of launching 500 kg satellites in 500 km planar orbit from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), It has certain benefits, including low cost, flexibility in accommodating several satellites, launch demand feasibility and minimal launch infrastructure requirements.
Significance of the SSLV
Initially, the bigger size satellites were given importance, but as the sector grew, many players emerged, like businesses, government agencies, universities, and laboratories, began to send satellites. The demand for small satellites grew due to the ever-increasing need for space-based data, communication, surveillance and commerce. Businesses, government agencies, universities and laboratories have begun to send satellites into outer space.
Satellite Manufacturers and operators do not have the luxury of waiting for months for a space rocket or paying exorbitant trip charges. Therefore, many organisations are developing a constellation of satellites in space. Projects like SpaceX, Starlink, and One Web are assembling a constellation of hundreds of satellites.
With the rise in demand, rockets could be launched frequently with less cost; this provides a business opportunity for space agencies like ISRO to tap the potential of the sector as most of the demand comes from companies that are launching satellites for commercial purposes.
