Reaching for the stars...

In the early 1960's ...India was slowly awakening to the Space age....Although rest of the world was preparing to reach for the Moon...we were making our humble beginning...a small rocket took off from Thumba on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram, announcing the birth of the modern space age in India. That was when the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) formally came into existence. Over the years, TERLS have given birth to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) and to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)...

This was how the Rocket Cone was transported to the Launch Pad at Thumba !!









November 21, 1963: The Nike Apache rocket being readied for launch







Try identifying the person on the left...most probably you wont be able to identify...

He is our very own...Dr. A.P J. Abdul Kalam....

Early days at the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station. Readying equipment to be carried by a sounding rocket into the atmosphere are Kalam and R. Aravamudan







The present day Launch Station at SriHarikota