ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan announced on December 11, 2025, that rocket launches from Tamil Nadu’s Kulasekarapattinam spaceport—India’s second after Sriharikota and inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2023—will commence in early 2027, primarily for Small Satellite Launch Vehicles (SSLVs) and private entities, enabling 20-25 annual missions with optimal polar orbits. Construction advances swiftly, with land acquisition nearly complete and key infrastructure underway, enhancing India’s small-satellite dominance amid intensifying space competition from China and private players. Paralleling this, Gaganyaan preparations near fruition, featuring 8,000 successful Crew Escape System tests and three uncrewed flights before 2027 crewed missions, paving the way for the Bharatiya Antariksh Station’s first module in 2028 and full operations by 2035. From an Indian strategic lens, these developments fortify self-reliance in defense reconnaissance, disaster monitoring, and geopolitical deterrence through sovereign space access.