Overview
- Padmakumar ES, who leads the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, said the new pad will be developed, installed and commissioned within four years.
- The facility is intended for larger launch vehicles capable of placing satellites of about 12,000–14,000 kilograms into various orbits.
- Once operational, the third pad is expected to support both crewed and uncrewed missions, according to the centre’s director.
- The expansion tracks with recent heavy-lift activity, including the LVM3-M6 mission that deployed AST SpaceMobile’s roughly 6,000-kilogram BlueBird Block-2 satellite.
- Sriharikota remains India’s primary launch base, with the existing two pads handling PSLV and GSLV-class missions.