Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station
Encyclopedia
The Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) is an Indian spaceport, operated by the Indian Space Research Organization. It is located in Thumba
, Thiruvananthapuram
which is near the southern tip of India
, very close to earth's magnetic equator. It currently used by ISRO for launching sounding rocket
s.
is located very close the magnetic equator of the Earth (located just north of Thumba), making it the ideal location for scientists to conduct atmospheric research. In fact, Thumba's location at 8°32'34" N and 76°51'32" E is ideal for low-altitude, upper atmosphere and ionosphere studies. Thumba is a small fishing village situated close to the Thiruvananthapuram
airport in Kerala
.
, took into consideration number of sites situated in Kerala
to construct a rocket station. After long discussion they both finalized Thumba
as the appropriate place. Thumba is a small village, until then, known only for fishing situated near the Thiruvananthapuram
airport in Kerala
.
The newly built rocket launching pad was set amidst coconut
groves. A local Catholic church, the St Mary Magadelene's Church served as the main office for the scientists. The bishop's house was converted into a workshop. A cattle shed became the laboratory in which the young Indian scientists worked on the first sounding rockets. Upon launching the first sounding rocket (Nike-Apache) on 21 Nov 1963, Prof. Sarabhai shared with his team his dream of an Indian Satellite Launch Vehicle. Over the next 12 years, the United States
, Britain
, France
and the USSR helped India build and launch more than 350 sounding rockets from Thumba.
The Rohini Sounding Rocket (RSR) program to develop indigenously developed and fabricated sounding rockets launched the first single-stage Rohini (RH-75) rocket (32 kg rocket with 7 kg payload to ~10 km altitude) in 1967, followed by a two-stage Rohini rocket (100 kg payload to over 320 km altitude).
worked on the first sounding rockets.
Subsequently, TERLS developed infrastructure for all aspects of rocketry, ranging from rocket design, rocket propellant, rocket motor casting, integration, payload-assembly, testing, evaluation besides building subsystems like payload housing and nose cones which could be jettisoned. Fiber Reinforced Plastics composite materials for nosecone were used in early programs at TERLS.
Presently the site has the capability to launch rockets up to 0.56 metres in diameter. The three launch pads at the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station have facilities for a variety of sounding rockets, including the French Centaure Dragon, the Indian Centaure and Rohini, Britain's Skua and Petrel, America's Nike-Apache, Nike-Tomahawk and Arcas and Russia's M-100.
on December 30, 1971, the whole space establishment at Thiruvananthapuram
was rechristened as Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre
. Over the last four decades VSSC has matured into a centre of excellence in launch vehicle technology.
Thumba
Thumba is a suburb of Thiruvananthapuram city, capital of Kerala, India.Thumba became well-known to the out-siders after the establishment of Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station , which was the first of that kind in India...
, Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...
which is near the southern tip of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, very close to earth's magnetic equator. It currently used by ISRO for launching sounding rocket
Sounding rocket
A sounding rocket, sometimes called a research rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The origin of the term comes from nautical vocabulary, where to sound is to throw a weighted line from a ship into...
s.
Location
ThumbaThumba
Thumba is a suburb of Thiruvananthapuram city, capital of Kerala, India.Thumba became well-known to the out-siders after the establishment of Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station , which was the first of that kind in India...
is located very close the magnetic equator of the Earth (located just north of Thumba), making it the ideal location for scientists to conduct atmospheric research. In fact, Thumba's location at 8°32'34" N and 76°51'32" E is ideal for low-altitude, upper atmosphere and ionosphere studies. Thumba is a small fishing village situated close to the Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...
airport in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
.
History
In 1962, the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was established. Homi Bhabha, then the father of India's nuclear program, along with Vikram SarabhaiVikram Sarabhai
Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai was an Indian physicist. He is considered to be the father of the Indian space program; legendary Homi Bhabha’s successor as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission; and was as at home in the world of the arts as in his favourite laboratory. His interests were vast and...
, took into consideration number of sites situated in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
to construct a rocket station. After long discussion they both finalized Thumba
Thumba
Thumba is a suburb of Thiruvananthapuram city, capital of Kerala, India.Thumba became well-known to the out-siders after the establishment of Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station , which was the first of that kind in India...
as the appropriate place. Thumba is a small village, until then, known only for fishing situated near the Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...
airport in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
.
The newly built rocket launching pad was set amidst coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
groves. A local Catholic church, the St Mary Magadelene's Church served as the main office for the scientists. The bishop's house was converted into a workshop. A cattle shed became the laboratory in which the young Indian scientists worked on the first sounding rockets. Upon launching the first sounding rocket (Nike-Apache) on 21 Nov 1963, Prof. Sarabhai shared with his team his dream of an Indian Satellite Launch Vehicle. Over the next 12 years, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the USSR helped India build and launch more than 350 sounding rockets from Thumba.
The Rohini Sounding Rocket (RSR) program to develop indigenously developed and fabricated sounding rockets launched the first single-stage Rohini (RH-75) rocket (32 kg rocket with 7 kg payload to ~10 km altitude) in 1967, followed by a two-stage Rohini rocket (100 kg payload to over 320 km altitude).
Facilities
When TERLS was first established, it had a single launch pad in the midst of coconut plantations. The St Mary Magadelene's Church served as the main office for the scientists. The bishop's house was converted into a workshop. A cattle shed became the laboratory in which young Indian scientists like Abdul KalamAbdul Kalam
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam usually referred to as A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, is a renowned aerospace engineer, professor , and first Chancellor of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology Thiruvananthapuram , who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007...
worked on the first sounding rockets.
Subsequently, TERLS developed infrastructure for all aspects of rocketry, ranging from rocket design, rocket propellant, rocket motor casting, integration, payload-assembly, testing, evaluation besides building subsystems like payload housing and nose cones which could be jettisoned. Fiber Reinforced Plastics composite materials for nosecone were used in early programs at TERLS.
Presently the site has the capability to launch rockets up to 0.56 metres in diameter. The three launch pads at the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station have facilities for a variety of sounding rockets, including the French Centaure Dragon, the Indian Centaure and Rohini, Britain's Skua and Petrel, America's Nike-Apache, Nike-Tomahawk and Arcas and Russia's M-100.
Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre
After the death of Dr. Vikram SarabhaiVikram Sarabhai
Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai was an Indian physicist. He is considered to be the father of the Indian space program; legendary Homi Bhabha’s successor as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission; and was as at home in the world of the arts as in his favourite laboratory. His interests were vast and...
on December 30, 1971, the whole space establishment at Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...
was rechristened as Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre
Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre
The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre is a major space research centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation , focusing on rocket and space vehicles for India's satellite programme...
. Over the last four decades VSSC has matured into a centre of excellence in launch vehicle technology.