ISRO’s third launch pad to be operational by March 2029: Govt to Parliament

The third launch pad (TLP) being built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at its Satish Dhawan Space Centre, in Sriharikota for launching space crafts, is expected to become operation by March 2029, the government told Parliament on Wednesday.

As India expands its footprint in space for military, scientific and commercial purposes, the TLP will enhance ISRO's capability to launch significantly heavier payloads into space than is being done at present.

The four-year project requires four major milestones to be accomplished. These include completion of the civil works by May 2028, establishment of fluid systems and associated propellant storages by July 2028, establishment of launch pad facilities by September 2028) and finally commissioning of the facility by March 2029.

The Financial Sanction for the TLP project was received in March 2025. Subsequently, the geo-technical investigation and topography survey of the site was completed by May 2025, the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Dr Jitendra Singh, said in response to a question to the Prime Minister by Member of Parliament Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayulu.

Offers are under evaluation for road works and electrical works. Multiple work packages have been identified for the establishment of the TLP facilities, he added. The Department of Space also proposes to partner with Indian private players and MSMEs selected through a tendering process.

Located on the southern coast of Andhra Pradesh, the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), also known as the Sriharikota High Altitude Range (SHAR) is ISRO’s primary spaceport for undertaking missions into space.

The first launch from SDSC was carried out in August 1979. The launch pad was used for the Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) and the Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV) series and was decommissioned in 1994.

At present two launch pads, the First Launch Pad (FLP) that began operations in 1993 and the Second Launch Pad (SLP) that was commissioned in December 2003, are operational. The FLP is generally used for the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), while the SLP is used for the heavier Geo-Synchronous Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and the Launch Vehicle Mark – 3.

The TLP will support ISRO’s Next Generation Launch Vehicles (NGLV) and Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3) with semi-cryogenic stages, as well as scaled-up NGLV configurations. It will have the capacity to launch spacecraft of 30,000 tonnes in low earth orbit. In comparison, the LVM-3 has a lift-off mass of 640 tonnes.

Being built at a cost of around Rs 4,000 crore, the TLP will enhance redundancy, streamline launch processes and support India’s ambitious space goals, including commercial and scientific missions. It will also serve as a backup for the existing launch pads and boost ISRO’s capacity for future human spaceflight and inter-planetary space exploration missions, including the Bharatiya Antariksh Station by 2035 and a crewed lunar landing by 2040.