Article Posted on : - Oct 13, 2011

SRIHARIKOTA, AP (PTI): ISRO has said it planned to have more launch sites as the frequency of satellite launches is slated to go up in the coming years.

"We need to provide more number of launch pads, since the number of launches from ISRO is going to go up," ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan told reporters Wednesday.

We will do a feasibility study soon on sites "which can be something like another Sriharikota." The outlay for these new sites maybe less than Rs 1,000 crore, he said.

Listing out the launches, he said the GSLV launch is scheduled for the second quarter of 2012. There are two more PSLVs - one (PLSV C-19) carrying RISAT-1, a microwave remote sensing satellite, another (PSLV C 20) carrying an Indo French collaborative satellite Saral and small other satellites which will study oceans, he said.

ISRO also plans to launch Astrosat and Aditya satellites in the coming years.

The agency is also scheduled to launch Chandrayaan 2 at end of 2013 or beginning of 2014. "It will be launched with a GSLV," another ISRO official said.

On status of work on Mark III, P S Veeraraghavan, Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre said "it is progressing well, with tests on three stages of S 200, L 110 and C 25 to be completed."

On promoting nano satellites from the student community, Radhakrishnan said ISRO's objective was to give them practical experience on how to work with a satellite.