 | |||||
| Location | Kulasekharapatnam, Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu, India | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | ISRO | ||||
| Launch pad(s) | One | ||||
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8°26′23″N 78°04′33″E / 8.4398°N 78.0759°E Kulasekharapatnam Spaceport is being developed as the second spaceport of the Indian Space Research Organisation near Kulasekharapatnam town of southern India.[1][2][3] The facility is being constructed over 2,350 acres. As of July 2022[update], the acquisition of around 1950 acres (nearly 83%) of land had been completed.[1][4][5]
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) operates the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota as its primary launch site since 1971.[6] 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.[7] 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.[4][8]
This spaceport will provide launchpads and support facilities for ISRO missions carrying payloads into polar orbits.[8]