Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station
TERLS (Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station) is India's first and most historically significant rocket launch site, located at Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Kerala, on the magnetic equator.
- Founded
- 1962
- Headquarters
- Thiruvananthapuram, India
- Ownership
- Subsidiary of Indian Space Research Organisation
Quick Facts
About Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station
TERLS (Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station) is India's first and most historically significant rocket launch site, located at Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Kerala, on the magnetic equator. Established in 1962 by Vikram Sarabhai and formally inaugurated in 1963 with a US Nike-Apache sounding rocket, TERLS marks the birthplace of India's space program — it is where ISRO was founded as an organizational concept. The magnetic equatorial location provides ideal conditions for ionospheric research using sounding rockets (magnetic field lines are nearly horizontal, enabling unique upper atmosphere studies).
TERLS continues to operate as an active sounding rocket launch site for atmospheric and ionospheric research under ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), which is located adjacent to it. The site is designated a UNESCO heritage site due to its role in the early global cooperative sounding rocket program in the 1960s.
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- Verification
- Verified 2026-09-04
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Frequently asked about Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station
Quick answers to the questions readers most often search for.
- When was Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station founded?
- Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station was founded in 1962 in India.
- Where is Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station headquartered?
- Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station is headquartered in Thiruvananthapuram, India.
- What does Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station do?
- TERLS (Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station) is India's first and most historically significant rocket launch site, located at Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Kerala, on the magnetic equator. Established in 1962 by Vikram Sarabhai and formally inaugurated in 1963 with a US Nike-Apache sounding rocket, TERLS mark…
- What sector does Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station operate in?
- Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station works in spaceports, Launch services and Research.
Sources
The structured fields on this page (founding year, location, sector, status, listing) and the profile text are drawn from the sources below. How profiles are drafted and checked is described in our methodology.
- Wikidata / Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-09-04
Data Accuracy Notice: Information about Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station is compiled from publicly available sources including company websites, press releases, regulatory filings, and industry reports. Data is reviewed periodically but may not reflect the most recent developments.