Founded:
1 October 1971
Owner / Operator:
Government of India / ISRO
Location:
Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, India
Time zone:
UTC+05:30
Elevation:
0 m to 10m (0 to 33 ft)
The Satish Dhawan Space Centre is India’s only rocket launch centre. The facility has played host to a number of historic launches including the country’s first lunar orbiter, the Chandrayaan-1 launched in 2008 and their first Mars orbiter, Mangalyaan launched in 2013.
History
In 1969, Sriharikota island on the east coast of India was chosen for the construction of the country’s first satellite launching station. Following two years of construction, the first Sriharikota Range launchpad became operational with the launch of an RH-125 sounding rocked in 1971. The facility wouldn’t host an orbital launch attempt until August 1979 with the launch of the Rohini 1A satellite.
In 2002, the Sriharikota Range was renamed in memory of the former Chairman of the ISRO, Satish Dhawan.
Today, the Satish Dhawan Space Centre features two launchpads which are used to launch India’s PSLV and GSLV rockets. The construction of a third launchpad is planned to support the future of the country’s space programme including crewed missions.
