Short name FLP Status Active | Launch pad(s) One Launches 24 | |
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First launch 20 September 1993
PSLV / IRS-P1 Last launch 28 April 2016
PSLV-XL / IRNSS-1G Launch site Satish Dhawan Space Centre Operator Indian Space Research Organisation | ||
The First Launch Pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre is a rocket launch site in Sriharikota, India that began operation in 1993. It is currently used by two launch vehicles of the ISRO: the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). It is one of two operational orbital launch pads at the site, the other being the Second Launch Pad, which opened in 2005. The first launch from this pad occurred on 20 September 1993, and was the maiden flight of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle carrying the IRS-1E satellite.
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Launches
As of November 2013, 19 PSLVs (1 Failure, 1 Partial Success & 17 Fully Successful) and 3 GSLVs (1 Failure & 2 Fully Successful) have been launched from here. The latest one was the successful launch of PSLV-C33 on 28 April 2016 carrying IRNSS-1G, India's seventh and last satellite of the Indian Regional Navigational system Satellites. Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a brief speech about the launch.
Facilities
"The individual stages of PSLV or GSLV, their subsystems and the spacecraft are prepared and checked out in separate facilities before they are sent to launch pad for integration A-76-meter tall mobile service tower (MST) facilitates the vertical integration of the vehicle. The foldable working platforms of MST provide access to the vehicle at various elevations. A massive launch pedestal, made up of steel plates, acts as the base on which the vehicle is integrated."
"The spacecraft is integrated to the vehicle in a clean room, set up inside the MST. However, in the case of GSLV, the spacecraft is interfaced with the payload adopter and then encapsulated in the heat shield in the preparation facility itself. The encapsulated assembly is moved to the launch pad for integrating with the 3rd stage of GSLV. The umbilical tower houses the feed lines for liquid propellants and high-pressure gases, checkout cables, and chilled air duct for supplying cool air to the satellite and equipment bay."