Excelsior Correspondent

New Delhi, July 17: A delegation of Space Scientists accompanied by well known Tamil journalist Kosal Ram and led by T. Kannan, today approached Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh for setting up the country’s third Space/Satellite Launch Pad at Kulasekharapattinam in Tamil Nadu.

The delegation, which specially flew in from Chennai this morning, held half an hour meeting with Dr Jitendra Singh to explain that, while at present India is already having two Launch Pads in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh for launch of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) rockets, the third launch pad should be set up at Kulasekharapattinam in Tamil Nadu, which is very near to Mahendragiri, where the ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) is located with all the requisite facilities.

In a memorandum submitted to Dr Jitendra Singh, it was argued that the launch pads in other countries including America and Russia are located at different places instead of one place, for strategic and scientific reasons. Making a strong bid for a launch station in Tamil Nadu, the memorandum argued that heavier satellites can be launched from here and it will also have the advantage of better safety factors, he said.

The memorandum also pleaded for setting up “Indian Institute of Aerospace and Propulsion Technology” (IIAPT) in the campus of IPRC at Tamil Nadu. This institute can focus on fields like aerospace propulsion, high speed flights, aircraft building, helicopter building etc. Not only will this lead to advancement in science but will also help in creating advantage of space technology which can be made applicable all over the world.