Cabinet Approves A Third Launchpad Worth Rs 3,984 At ISRO's Sriharikota (image-X/isro)

A day after the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) completed a historic docking experiment, the Union Cabinet approved the setting up of a third launch pad at the country’s only spaceport in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota on Thursday.

ISRO will get a third launchpad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. The total fund requirement is Rs 3,984 crore, which includes the establishment of the launchpad and the associated facilities including vehicle assembly, satellite preparation, and fuelling.

It is expected to be built in four years.

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The new launchpad will be required for the space agency to be prepared for the heavier Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), which is currently under development. It will also be instrumental in setting up the Bharatiya Antariksh Station by 2035 and ISRO’s plan to send a human to the moon by 2040.

it will also operate as standby launch pad for the second launchpad at Sriharikota can be used for the launch of heavier rockets.  The launchpad is designed to have configuration that is as universal and adaptable as possible that can support not only NGLV but also the LVM3 vehicles with Semicryogenic stage as well as scaled up configurations of NGLV. 

Currently, the spaceport in Sriharikota has two launch pads. The first launch pad was set up 30 years ago and is designed to support the launch of smaller vehicles such as PSLV and SSLV.

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The second launch pad was set up 20 years ago, primarily for the launch of heavier vehicles such as GSLV and LVM3. It can also be used as a standby for the workhorse PSLV.

A third launchpad will help in increasing the frequency of launches from India, allowing the space agency to undertake more commercial as well as scientific missions.