Fifty years of TERLS

Fifty years of TERLS

Context:

India’s commitment to the peaceful use of outer space has been a constant

In news

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the dedication of Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) to the UN, which fell on February 2, 2018, ISRO has honoured former employees of TERLS who had contributed to the sounding rocket programme.

About TERLS

• TERLS is an Indian spaceport operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation.
• It is located in Thumba, Thiruvananthapuram which is near the southern tip of mainland India
• From TERLS India’s first rocket (US made) Nike-Apache was launched.
• During the 1960s, TERLS became an international launch station and the sounding rockets launched from here proved instrumental in studying the equatorial electrojet.

TERLS Dedication to the UN

• The Indian space programme received support from the U.S., the USSR, France, the U.K. and West Germany.
• Often, this was in the form of technical equipment such as telemetry receivers, tracking systems and computers.
• In return, India offered to dedicate TERLS to the United Nations as a goodwill gesture.
• Consequently, the UN formally sponsored TERLS as an international scientific facility open to all its members.

India’s commitment to the peaceful use of outer space

• Amidst changes in Indian space programme, India’s commitment to the peaceful use of outer space has been a constant
• It is highly commendable given that the entire programme advanced on the back of a considerable resource crunch.
• The space programme in India remains focussed on civilian benefits, using space technology to improve the life of the common man.
• This includes the use of satellites to: map and survey crops, assess damage from natural disasters, and bring telemedicine and telecommunication to the remote areas of rural India.