India’s space agency ISRO begins construction of second spaceport
India’s spaceports
After several years getting the real estate as well as the necessary regulatory approvals, India’s space agency, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), has now begun construction of it second spaceport, dubbed Kulasekaranpattinam, near the southern tip of India.
The map to the right shows the location. The Sriharikota spaceport has been used by the agency for decades. The Agnikul site was used once by one of India’s rocket startups for a suborbital launch, but it is unclear if it will be upgraded to a full launch site in the future.
Kulasekarapattinam was one of the areas recommended for the launchpad even before the rocket launchpad was set up in Sriharikota due to its strategic geographical location near the equator. It is located on the east coast and there is no land to the south of it, allowing for direct southward launches over the Indian Ocean. This will minimize fuel consumption and maximize payload capacity for small satellite launch vehicles (SSLVs), particularly beneficial for cost-effective commercial satellite launches.
The site also avoids the need for complex “dogleg” manoeuvres around Sri Lanka. The manoeuvre involves a sharp turn or bend in a launch trajectory to avoid collisions or falling debris into populated areas, which would require additional fuel.
As part of the breaking ground ceremonies, ISRO scientists also completed a small suborbital rocket launch from this new site, reaching an altitude of 46 miles before falling back into the Indian Ocean.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
India’s spaceports
After several years getting the real estate as well as the necessary regulatory approvals, India’s space agency, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), has now begun construction of it second spaceport, dubbed Kulasekaranpattinam, near the southern tip of India.
The map to the right shows the location. The Sriharikota spaceport has been used by the agency for decades. The Agnikul site was used once by one of India’s rocket startups for a suborbital launch, but it is unclear if it will be upgraded to a full launch site in the future.
Kulasekarapattinam was one of the areas recommended for the launchpad even before the rocket launchpad was set up in Sriharikota due to its strategic geographical location near the equator. It is located on the east coast and there is no land to the south of it, allowing for direct southward launches over the Indian Ocean. This will minimize fuel consumption and maximize payload capacity for small satellite launch vehicles (SSLVs), particularly beneficial for cost-effective commercial satellite launches.
The site also avoids the need for complex “dogleg” manoeuvres around Sri Lanka. The manoeuvre involves a sharp turn or bend in a launch trajectory to avoid collisions or falling debris into populated areas, which would require additional fuel.
As part of the breaking ground ceremonies, ISRO scientists also completed a small suborbital rocket launch from this new site, reaching an altitude of 46 miles before falling back into the Indian Ocean.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
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