Sriharikota range, popularly known as `Shar' is situated on an island formed some two hundred years ago, off Sullurpeta, a small town in Andhra Pradesh. The national highway connecting Chennai and Calcutta passes through the town about 80 km north of Chennai.

Formed way back in 1798 when the Britih dug out a canal to connect the northern and southern stretches of the Buckingham canal, this island is acquiring an additional launch pad for the next phase of launch vehicles - the geostationary launch vehicles.

Thirty years ago, when scientists of the then fledgling Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) were searching for a site in the east coast from where they could launch rockets, the choice was narrowed down to Sriharikota.

The 150 sq km, tinyisland, with a 62 km long coastline, has key advantages in housing the country's launch pad as ISRO could use the earth's east to west rotation for its launch operations towards east. Besides, the island is sparsely populated.

The picture today is totally different. Beautifully designed red brick buildings dot the landscape. A whole series of laboratories are scattered all over the place, connected by a chain of well patrolled roads. Numerous space scientists live on the island where hardly a few hundred illiterate people lived before.

The Yanadi tribals have given way for housing more than 2,000 space scientists and other staff to enable the island become a beehive of hi-tech activities which began in 1969 when ISRO scientists tookover the island.

The Shar has a unique combination of facilities such as a solid propellant plant, a rocket motor static test complex, launch complexes for a variety of rockets, telemetry, telecommand, tracking and data acquisition facilities and other support services.

Therange became operational in 1971 with the successful launch of Rohini-125 (rh-125), a small sounding rocket. Since then the facilities here were expanded to meet the growing needs of ISRO. A mission control centre located at the safe distance from the launch complex, coordinates and conducts the launch operations during the countdown phase and till the injection of the satellite into orbit. The MCC is linked to all ground stations through communication links for voice and data. A real time computer system provides necessary information on real time monitoring of the performance of the launch vehicle during the flight, the primary need for any mission.

Despite its advanced activities, the ISRO had taken pains to conserve the island, a veritable paradise for orinthologistgs and nature lovers attracting thousands of birds from as far away as Siberia and Australia as soon as the north east monsoon arrives.

Sriharikota is also a treasure trove of rare species of flora. ISRO has also come out with a welldocumented book on the flora and fauna of the island.

Prompt replies

SRIHARIKOTA: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's ready wit and sarcasm came to the fore while addressing the media after the successful launch of PSLV-C2 here on Wednesday noon.

Asked if his Government would finance the ISRO if it wanted to send a mission to the moon, Vajpayee, in a lighter vein, quipped, "When man reached the moon, he did not find anything beautiful there".

Asked for his reaction to AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalitha's statement that she would soon make startling disclosures about the BJP-led Government's alleged anti-national links, Vajpayee, who evoked the image of man reaching for the stars in his earlier address to the scientists, shot back, "You want me to come down from space".