India has just been growing in its space development, now the latest launchpad for India's expansive space goals is coming up close to the southern tip of Tamil Nadu, not very far from Kanniyakumari.

PM Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for Kulasekarapattinam spaceport on February 28 and the facility is expected to start operations in two years. Spread over 2,292 acres across three villages in two taluks and expected to cost about Rs 986 crore, the site will be handling the launch of smaller satellites.

Soon after the PM had left, an RH-200 rocket lifted off from a makeshift launchpad from the site off Bay of Bengal. Close to 60 years back, Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) had fired its first Rohini rocket from the sleepy fishing village of Thumba in Thiruvananthapuram on the western coast. If the launch of another sounding rocket, from Kulasekarapattinam this time, reminds of the historic first scripted in Kerala, it also forms the prologue to Indian space programme's next leap into the future .

Isro chairman S Somanath has said the new spaceport will be ready in two years. While Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota has two launchpads, Kulasekarapattinam will begin with one launchpad. But like at Sriharikota, it will also have rocket integration facilities, a mobile launch structure and checkout computers. The upcoming launchpad will be used for launching Isro's Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) rocket, which carries relatively smaller satellites, as reported by TOI.

Rockets launched from Kulasekarapattinam can save fuel as it avoids the need for a special flight path. unlike a PSLV rocket launched from Sriharikota. PSLV rockets have to perform what is known as a 'dogleg manoeuvre', a sharp turn to deviate from a straight flight path.

A rocket launched from Kulasekarapattinam can fly straight south, which means greater payload ratio.

Kulasekarapattinam will launch nano- and microsatellites, which are becoming the preferred tools for navigation and remote sensing due to their affordability.

Isro has launched 432 satellites for 34 countries, including micro- and nanosatellites, and is now aiming to tap into the global small satellite market with its SSLV rocket.