CHENNAI: India’s second spaceport at Kulasekarapattinam in Thoothukudi is expected to see its first rocket launch next year, ISRO Chairman V Narayanan said on Thursday, adding that construction work at the facility was progressing well.
Speaking to reporters after unveiling a statue of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin at the Periyar Science and Technology Centre in Chennai, Narayanan said the state had acquired nearly 2,300 acres and handed over the land to ISRO.
PM Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the spaceport on February 28, 2024. The facility is being developed primarily to support launches of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV).
Narayanan, along with Russian Consul General Valery Khodzhaev and Periyar Science and Technology Centre Director Shanmugasundaram, unveiled the statue of Gagarin, who became the first human to travel into space on April 12, 1961. Thanking Russia for its support to India’s space programme, Narayanan recalled its contribution to the country.
On the recent heavy rainfall and weather forecasts, he said the responsibility for weather prediction rested with the IMD, while ISRO provided satellite data to help the agency make accurate forecasts.
He also said the recently launched NVS-03 navigation satellite had reached geosynchronous orbit.