Satish Dhawan Space Center

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Coordinates: 13 ° 43 ′ 12 ″  N , 80 ° 13 ′ 48 ″  E

Map: India
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Satish Dhawan Space Center
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Map of the Satish Dhawan Space Center

The Satish Dhawan Space Center ( SHAR ) is a rocket launch site operated by the Indian space agency ISRO . It is located on the southeast coast of India in the state of Andhra Pradesh , about 80 kilometers north of Chennai .

Designations

The launch site was originally named Sriharikota Range or Sriharikota Launching Range , after the island of Sriharikota on which the site is located. It was given its current name on September 5, 2002 after the death of ISRO chairman Satish Dhawan . However, the abbreviation was always SHAR (' Sriharikota High Altitude Range ').

history

India had a rocket launch site with Thumba , which was used for sounding rockets from 1963 . Due to the location between the Arabian Sea and Ceylon , satellite launches were not possible, so another launch site had to be built.

In 1969 the area on the island of Sriharikota was selected for a rocket launch site. The proximity to the equator and large expanses of water to the east, where satellite launches mostly take place, spoke in favor of the location . In addition, the site was easy to reach, it was close to the main road from Chennai (then Madras) to Kolkata (then Calcutta). Members of the Yanadi people who lived semi-nomadically near the site were relocated from 1970 onwards.

The first launch from Sriharikota took place on October 9, 1971 with a suborbital flight of the sounding rocket RH-125 . The first orbital launch took place on August 10, 1979 with the Rohini 1A satellite , which however did not reach the intended orbit.

On July 18, 1980, an SLV rocket launched from Sriharikota with the Rohini 1B satellite . This made India the seventh nation to put its own satellite into orbit with its own rocket.

On February 23, 2004, an explosion occurred when HTPB propellant for solid fuel rockets was being transported from one building to another. Six people were killed and three others at the entrance to the building were seriously injured. The building was completely destroyed by the explosion and subsequent fire.

On December 25, 2010, a GSLV rocket broke after a deviation from orbit with the GSAT-5P satellite on board shortly after take-off.

Facilities

On the 145 square kilometer test site there is a solid fuel factory, test stands for rocket engines, launch ramps, telemetry and remote control devices, as well as satellite tracking devices.

The two launch ramps are named FLP (First Launch Pad) and SLP (Second Launch Pad). A third launch pad TLP (Third Launch Pad) for the manned spacecraft Gaganyaan is planned.

The following rockets can be launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center:

  • RH sounding rocket : since 1971
  • SLV : four starts from 1979 to 1983
  • ASLV : four starts from 1987 to 1994
  • PSLV : since 1993, used among other things for the Chandrayaan-1 lunar probe
  • GSLV : since 2001, used among other things for the Insat satellites
  • SSLV : planned for 2020

See also

Web links

Commons : Satish Dhawan Space Center  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. TS Subramanian: 6 killed in explosion at Sriharikota space center. The Hindu, February 24, 2004, accessed January 3, 2009 .
  2. Raumfahrer.net: False start: GSAT 5P destroyed on GSLV-F06
  3. Dinakar Peri: ISRO setting up launch pad for Gaganyaan mission. The Hindu, September 21, 2018, accessed September 22, 2018 .