Hyderabad: The Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh is on the verge of a major milestone, nearing its 100th rocket launch. This achievement will place the Sriharikota Range (SHAR) among a prestigious group of spaceports from major countries that have also reached this milestone. The event will be celebrated with the launch of the NVS-02 satellite, carried by the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) from the space centre.
Location of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC)
The Satish Dhawan Space Centre is India's primary spaceport, located on the spindle-shaped island of Sriharikota on the east coast of Andhra Pradesh, approximately 80 km north of Chennai. This island was selected in 1969 to establish a satellite launching station.
Situated off Sullurupeta -- a small town in Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh, on the national highway connecting Chennai and Kolkata -- Sriharikota is accessible by a 20-minute drive eastward on a road crossing the Pulicat Lake. The island covers about 43,360 acres (175 sq km) and has a 50 km coastline.
Establishment of Sriharikota Range (SHAR)
The Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC SHAR) originated in the 1960s when Dr Vikram A Sarabhai began space research in India. He aimed to apply advanced technologies to real-world problems. In 1969, a rocket launch station was established on a spindle-shaped island in Andhra Pradesh's Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district, located between the Pulicat Lake and the Bay of Bengal.
The centre became operational on October 9, 1971, with the launch of the small sounding rocket ‘Rohini-125’. Over time, the facilities expanded to meet ISRO's growing needs. On September 5, 2002, the space centre was renamed in honour of Prof Satish Dhawan, a former ISRO chairman.
The search for an ideal Satellite Launch Site found SHAR
The search for an ideal location to launch India's future satellites dates back to the 1960s when the country decided to develop satellites and their launch vehicles indigenously. This initiative was led by Vikram Sarabhai, the founder of the Indian space programme. Sarabhai instructed his colleague, EV Chitnis, to find a launch site on the east coast of India, according to the book "From Fishing Hamlet to Red Planet: India’s Space Journey", edited by former ISRO scientists.
In March 1968, Chitnis contacted Abid Hussain, the then Director of Industry for Andhra Pradesh, who assisted him in gathering information and preparing maps for potential sites, including Sriharikota.
In an interview cited in the book, Chitnis recalled that in August 1968, Vikram Sarabhai conducted a survey of Sriharikota. He mentioned that Sarabhai used The Hindu newspaper’s Dakota plane for this purpose. "You know those people had a plane. So we flew over on that and in October 1968 we acquired about 40,000 acres," Chitnis said.
Major reasons that made Sriharikota a Rocket Launch Site
Sriharikota, also known as SHAR, is an ideal spaceport for several reasons. It offers a favourable launch azimuth corridor for various missions, benefits from the Earth's rotation for eastward launches, is near the equator, and has a largely uninhabited area for safety. Let's take a detailed look at them:
East Coast Location: It facilitates launching rockets eastwards.
Proximity to the Equator: Launching eastwards takes advantage of the Earth's rotation, imparting a velocity of about 450 m/s. This significantly increases the payload capacity of launch vehicles. Geostationary satellites, which must be in the equatorial plane, benefit greatly from a launch site near the equator.
Stable Geographical Platform: Sriharikota's strong soil composition and hard rock beneath it can withstand the intense vibrations produced during a launch.
Safety of People: The area is largely uninhabited and close to the sea, ensuring that the flight path of rockets is over the sea. This allows the impact of separated rocket hardware to occur on the high seas, minimising risks to populated areas. In case of malfunctions, rockets and debris fall harmlessly into the ocean.
Weather Conditions: The island experiences south-westerly and north-easterly monsoons, but heavy rains occur only in October and November, providing many clear days for tests and launches.
These features make Sriharikota particularly well-suited for missions targeting equatorial orbits, commonly used for communication and weather satellites, as they provide optimal coverage of the Earth's surface.
Major Indian space missions launched from SDSC SHAR
SDSC SHAR includes a solid propellant production plant, rocket motor static test facility, launch complexes for various rockets, telemetry, telecommand, tracking, data acquisition and processing facilities, and other support services. So far, it has witnessed 99 missions and awaiting the 100th launch. Here is a comprehensive list of significant Indian space missions launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota.
1980s - 1990s:
- 18.07.1980: Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 (SLV-3E2) successfully launched India's first experimental satellite, Rohini (RS-1), into orbit.
- 15.10.1994: PSLV-D2 successfully launched IRS-P2.
- 21.03.1996: PSLV-D3 successfully launched IRS-P3.
- 26.05.1999: PSLV launched its first foreign satellites, carrying multiple payloads including Oceansat-1, Germany’s DLRTubsat, and South Korea’s Kitsat-3.
2000s:
- 18.04.2001: GSLV-D1's first flight test successfully placed the 1,540 kg GSAT-1 satellite into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).
- 22.10.2001: PSLV-C3 launched three satellites: Technology Experiment Satellite (TES) of ISRO, BIRD of Germany, and PROBA of Belgium.
- 12.09.2002: PSLV-C4 launched the 1060 kg METSAT into a GTO.
- 08.05.2003: GSLV project aimed at launching geosynchronous satellites.
- 10.01.2007: PSLV-C7 launched four satellites, including India's CARTOSAT-2 and Space capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE-1), Indonesia's LAPAN-TUBSAT, and Argentina's PEHUENSAT-1.
- 22.10.2008: Chandrayaan-1, India’s first mission to the Moon, launched by PSLV-C11.
- 23.09.2009: PSLV-C14 launched Oceansat-2 and six nano-satellites into a Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit (SSPO).
2010s:
- 09.09.2012: ISRO's 100th Mission: PSLV-C21 launched two foreign satellites.
- 05.11.2013: Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), Mangalyaan, India's first interplanetary mission to Mars, launched by PSLV-C25.
- 15.02.2017: PSLV-C37 set a record by launching 104 satellites in a single flight.
- 23.06.2017: PSLV-C38 launched Cartosat-2 series satellite and 30 co-passenger satellites into a polar Sun Synchronous Orbit.
- 14.11.2018: GSAT-29, the heaviest satellite (3,423 kg), launched to improve communication in remote areas.
- 22.07.2019: Chandrayaan-2 launched by GSLV MkIII-M1 to the Moon.
2020s:
- 28.02.2021: PSLV-C51 launched Amazonia-1 and 18 co-passenger satellites.
- 26.03.2023: LVM3 M3/OneWeb India-2 Mission launched 36 OneWeb satellites into orbit.
- 14.07.2023: Chandrayaan-3 launched to achieve India's first soft landing on the Moon.
- 02.09.2023: Aditya-L1, India’s first scientific mission to study the Sun, launched.
- 01.01.2024: XPoSat launched to study black holes.
- 05.12.2024: PSLV-C59 launched the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Proba-3 mission.
- 30.12.2024: The Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) mission launched, carrying two small satellites, SDX01 and SDX02, along with 24 payloads.
