As the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) celebrates the 60th anniversary of the first rocket launch from Thumba this week, for Kerala it also serves as a reminder of a lost opportunity.
In the years after the first sounding rocket, a US Nike-Apache, lifted off on November 21, 1963, the State government had nurtured hopes of facilitating the development of industrial units in the neighbourhood of the rocket facility. The idea was that they would cater to the needs of the fledgling space programme. Time has proved that this dream, despite the initial enthusiasm, did not turn into a reality.
Kerala Legislative Assembly records from the 1970s indicate the government’s interest in establishing an industrial area near the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS).
