Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday laid the foundation stone for country’s second spaceport at Kulasekarapattinam in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu. Thie second spaceport complex at Kulasekarapattinam will be set up at a cost of Rs 986 crore on 2,292 acres and will include facilities like the launch pad, rocket integration facilities, ground range and check-out facilities.
DMK leader and Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi has stated that the initiation of this project has not just fulfilled the dreams of ISRO but also of her father, late chief minister Kalaignar Karunanidhi.
Kanimozhi told the media on Wednesday that her father had written many letters to the Centre pushing for launchpad projects and that she also had put forth this request in parliament. She had written letters to the Centre in 2018 and 2019 as well, she added. This Kulasekarapattinam project was finally approved by the union government on August 8, 2023.
In 2013, Karunanidhi had said that Kulasekarapattinam of south Tamil Nadu was ideal for the third rocket launch pad in India. He had said at the time, “If the facility comes there, it would help in the development of southern districts.” He also claimed that over 4,000 and 10,000 persons would get direct and indirect employment respectively, while over Rs 3 lakh crore investment would be made. At the time, Kanimozhi had raised the question about her father’s letter in the Rajya Sabha and was told that an expert committee had been formed to assess the need for a new launch pad.
Meanwhile, Isro chairman S Somanath said the new spaceport will cater to 24 launches every year and include mobile launch facilities. ISRO scientists stated that Kulasekarapattinam was ideal for a launch site due to its proximity to the equator, and that it supported ‘straight southward’ launches. Since the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) was just 100 kms away at Mahendragiri hills in Tirunelveli, it would be easier to transport second and fourth stage engines to the new launch pad.
Somnath added that the construction of the new launchpad would be completed in two years and that “land acquisition has been completed and the Tamil Nadu government has transferred the land to ISRO.” The Thoothukudi district administration had to relocate around 30 families from Koodalnagar of Mathavankurichi village, to Tiruchendur to acquire the total land.
