Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) is India's first rocket launching station and was established on 21 November 1963.[1][2] Operated by ISRO, it is located in Thumba, Thiruvananthapuram, which is near the southwestern tip of mainland India, very close to Earth's magnetic equator. It is currently used by ISRO (as Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre) for launching sounding rockets.[1]
History
The first rockets were assembled in the former St Louis High School, which now houses a space museum.[3] The local Bishop of Trivandrum, Rev. Peter Bernard Periera, along with Vincent Victor Dereere (a Belgian) and district collector Madhavan Nair were instrumental in acquiring a large parcel of land measuring 600 acres from coastal community.[4] Periera had given away the prayer hall and bishop's room in the local church. Minister of State for External Affairs, Lakshmi N. Menon helped to smooth bureaucratic hurdles facing the project in Delhi.[5]H. G. S. Murthy was appointed as the first Director of Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station.[6]
First rocket launched from TERLS being prepared. A Nike Apache in 1963.
21 November 1963 marked India's first venture into space, with the launch of a two-stage Nike Apachesounding rocket from TERLS. The first rockets launched were built in United States. The Indian navy also deputed two Bregut Alize aircraft for tracking and ranging operations during the development of sounding rockets.[7]
The first Indian designed and built rocket, RH-75, made its maiden flight on 20 November 1967. This was the 52nd launch of a sounding rocket from TERLS. It was flown twice again in 1967 and another 12 times in 1968, making a total of 15 RH-75 flights.
Over the years VSSC has designed, developed and since 1965 started launching a family of sounding rockets under the generic name, Rohini sounding rockets to serve a range of scientific missions. The currently operational Rohini Sounding Rockets are RH-200, RH-300, RH-560 and their different versions. These sounding rockets are launched for carrying out research in areas like meteorology and upper atmospheric processes up to an altitude of about 500km.[8]
TERLS was formally dedicated to the United Nations on 2 February 1968, by then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi.[9][10] Although no direct funding from the UN was involved, scientists from several countries including United States, Russia (former USSR), France, Japan, Germany and UK continue to utilize the TERLS facility for conducting rocket based experiments.
After the death of Vikram Sarabhai on December 30, 1971, TERLS and associated space establishments at Thiruvananthapuram were renamed as the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in his honour.
Thumba's[16] 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.[17][18]
↑Rao, U.R. (2014). India's Rise as a Space Power. New Delhi: Foundation Books. p.11. ISBN978-93-82993-48-3.
↑PV Manoranjan Rao; P Radhakrishnan (2012). A Brief History of Rocketry in ISRO. Hyderabad: Universities Press (India) Private Limited. pp.27–28. ISBN978-81-7371-763-5.
↑Wade, Mark (2019). "Thumba Pad 1". astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 12 November 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
↑Wade, Mark (2019). "Thumba Pad 2". astronautix.com. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
↑Wade, Mark (2019). "Thumba Pad 3". astronautix.com. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
↑Wade, Mark (2019). "Thumba Pad 4". astronautix.com. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
↑Wade, Mark (2019). "Thumba Pad 5". astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 17 January 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
↑Ley, Willy (June 1964). "Anyone Else for Space?". For Your Information. Galaxy Science Fiction. pp.110–128.
↑Iype, George (20 November 2003). "Forty years in Space". www.rediff.com. India Abroad. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
↑Ram, Arun (19 February 2015). "Rocket science of south". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 12 November 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
