Satish Dhawan Space Centre
Also called: SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota · Topic: Transport and Communication in India · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC SHAR) is ISRO's main launch site, called a spaceport. ISRO's big rockets lift off from here, including the PSLV, GSLV and LVM3. It is on Sriharikota, a narrow island on the east coast of Andhra Pradesh. SHAR stands for Sriharikota High Altitude Range. The centre is named after Satish Dhawan, a former ISRO chairman. The site has two advantages. Rockets fired eastward get an extra push from the Earth's west-to-east spin. They also fly out over the Bay of Bengal, so used rocket parts fall into the sea, away from towns. This spaceport lets India launch its own satellites without using foreign launch sites.
Example
On 18 July 1980, India's own SLV-3 rocket launched Rohini RS-1 from Sriharikota. This made India able to launch its own satellites. On 30 October 2026, GSLV-F18 lifted off from the centre's Second Launch Pad. It placed the navigation satellite NVS-03 in a geosynchronous transfer orbit (an oval "parking" orbit from which the satellite climbs to its final position).
Don't confuse with
- Thumba (near Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala): this is where India's space programme began. It launches small sounding rockets (rockets that study the upper air). It does not put satellites into orbit.
- Foreign launch sites used by early Indian satellites: Aryabhata (1975) launched from the Soviet Union. APPLE (1981) launched from Kourou in French Guiana, and IRS-1A (1988) from Baikonur. None of these flew from Sriharikota.