After Atomic Power Hub, TN Set To Become Major Space Center
CHENNAI, (IANS) – After being a major atomic power generation hub, Tamil Nadu is all set to become a major space center in the country, with the presence of rocket/satellite makers, rocket port, space propellant park, defense corridor, and aerospace park.
India’s second rocket port is to be built at Kulasekarapattinam in Tuticorin District from where ISRO can launch small rockets laden with small satellites. The proposed rocket port is also expected to cater to the launch needs of private rocket makers.
Major space-faring nations have multiple rocket launch sites. At present, India has one rocket port at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh with two launch pads.
“A rocket launch site should be on the east coast and near the Equator. And Tuticorin District satisfies that condition,” a former ISRO official said. It is also a good location for a rocket that needs to fly towards the south and proximity to the sea is also important.
India’s Earth observation or remote sensing satellites are flown southwards. The rockets flown from the Sriharikota rocket port in Andhra Pradesh to put satellites into the Polar orbit are not able to fly straight southwards as they must go around Sri Lanka, resulting in higher fuel spend. A straight path will result in lower fuel consumption which in turn enables the rocket to carry heavier satellites, ISRO officials said.
Former Director of ISRO, M Annadurai said, “Tamil Nadu can become a global space sector hub.”
Further the defense corridor and increased drone manufacturing and usage will beef up the ecosystem for making small satellites in Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu has announced that it will set up a new Space Industrial and Propellant Park near Tuticorin District on an area of 2,000 acres.
Already industrial units in Chennai, Coimbatore and other places in Tamil Nadu have been supplying components for ISRO.
Be that as it may, in the atomic power sector, Tamil Nadu currently has 2,440 MW commercial generation capacity out which 2,220 MW are operation (2,000 MW in Kudankulam and 440 MW at Kalpakkam) and one 220 MW plant at Madras Atomic Power Station is under maintenance since 2018.
The unit is expected to be operational from April 1, 2024.
That apart, another 4,000 MW of atomic power is being added in Kudankulam.
According to the Department of Atomic Energy, the integrated commissioning of the 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is in an advanced stage.
Two more 500 MW fast breeder reactors at Kalpakkam are being planned.
Recently the Prime Minister dedicated to the nation a Rs 400 crore Demonstration Fast Reactor Fuel Reprocessing Plant, at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, at Kalpakkam.
The Fast Reactor Fuel Cycle Facility, being set up in Kalpakkam near here, is expected to be completed by December 2027.
