New Delhi, With plans for 60 missions over the next five years, ISRO will develop a third launchpad at its spaceport at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh to meet the growing demand.
"We are planning to have a third launchpad at Sriharikota to cater to our future missions," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K Radhakrishnan told PTI. He said the new launchpad would help ISRO augment the frequency of missions, which was necessary to meet its
ambitious targets.
"We plan to launch 24 missions over the next 24 months, which include our communication satellites and some foreign payloads," he said, adding that over a five year period, the space agency has plans to launch 60 missions.
The new pad could also be used for launching Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk-III) carrying heavier satellites as also by the reusable launch vehicle, India's own version of a space shuttle.
Besides communications satellites, ISRO also has plans to launch Chandrayaan-II, the sequel to its successful moon mission, launch a satellite to study the Sun, send a probe to Mars and undertake a human spaceflight. On plans for developing another space port, Radhakrishnan said it was only at the stage of a feasibility study.
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