Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre

          The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) is a major space research centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), focusing on rocket and space vehicles for India's satellite programme. It is located in Thiruvananthapuram, in the Indian state of Kerala.

The center had its beginnings as the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) in 1962. It was renamed in honor of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, the father of the Indian space program. VSSC is surrounded by the villages of Veli to the south, Kulathoor to east, and Pallithura to the north.

The Vikram Sarabhai Space Center is one of the main Research & Development establishments within ISRO. VSSC is an entirely indigenous facility working on the development of sounding rockets; Rohini and Menaka launchers; ASLV, PSLV and GSLV, along with the solid-fuel motor program.
In addition to its main campus located at Thumba and Veli, VSSC has integration and checkout facilities located at Valiamala. Facilities for development of reinforced plastics and composites are located at Vattiyoorkavu in Thiruvananthapuram. An experimental plant in Aluva produces ammonium perchlorate, a vital ingredient for solid propellant motors. TERLS and the Space Physics Laboratory (SPL) are also within the VSSC campus. SPL focuses on research activities in disciplines such as surface boundary level physics, atmospheric aerosols, chemistry of radiation, atmospheric dynamics, etc.