Short name SLP Status Active | Launch pad(s) One Launches 17 | |
First launch 5 May 2005
PSLV / Cartosat-1 Last launch 08 September 2016
GSLV / INSAT-3DR Launch site Satish Dhawan Space Centre Operator Indian Space Research Organisation | ||
The Second Launch Pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre is a rocket launch site in Sriharikota, India. It is the second of two launch pads at the centre. The Second Launch Pad or SLP was designed, supplied, erected & commissioned by MECON Limited, a Government of Indian Enterprise, located at Ranchi (Jharkhand, India) during the period March 1999 to December 2003. It cost about Rs 400 Cr at that time. The second launch pad with associated facilities was built in 2005. However it became operational only on 5 May 2005 with the launching of PSLV-C6. MECON's sub-contractors for this project including Inox India, HEC, Tata Growth, Goderej Boyce, Simplex, Nagarjuna Construction, Steelage, etc. The other Launch Pad being the First Launch Pad. It is used by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicles, and is intended for use with future Indian rockets including the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk.III
Contents
Launches
The first launch from the pad occurred on 5 May 2005, and was of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle carrying the CARTOSAT-1 and HAMSAT satellites. As of 2016, 9 PSLVs (all successful) and 6 GSLVs (2 success, 1 partial success & 3 failures) have been launched from the complex. India's 1st Moon Mission, Chandrayan-I was launched from this launch pad on 22 October 2008. The most recent launch was of a PSLV-XL C32 on 10 March 2016.
Facilities
"As per the "Integrate, Transfer and Launch (ITL)" concept, based on which the launch pad and the associated facilities are designed, the entire vehicle is assembled and checked-out on a mobile pedestal in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and then moved in vertical position to the launch pad on a roll track."
"Other facilities include, Solid Stage Assembly Building (SSAB) connected to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) by a rail track, Technical Complex-2 (TC2), Spacecraft Preparation Facility, Range Instrumentation facilities comprising tracking, telemetry and tele-command systems."