How to catch an Isro mission live!!

With the Chandrayaan 3 becoming a complete success and the Aditya L1 launch being successful, Indians can not stop Raving about Isro and their missions, This also happens to be a perfect outing or day trip for families with kids if you are living in areas like Chennai, Tirupati, Nellore, etc. The launch pad of Isro is located at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Srihari kota just 120 kms from Chennai.

Seeing the Surge in the number of people interested in catching live rocket launches, Isro has now put up a watch gallery to catch all their rocket launches live, the Gallery can seat nearly 5000 people and what is even more exciting is its absolutely free. Attached to a small space centre and museum this would be a perfect day trip for you and your kids,

Outerspace, rockets, planets, etc are sure to pique the curiosity of any kid out there and happens to be a fun, educative, cost effective family getaway option. We got to witness the launch of Aditya L1, Isro's first ever solar mission live this time and here's how you can catch their next mission live if you are upto it.

Keep checking this space in ISRO s website to know of their future missions:

https://www.isro.gov.in/FutureMissions.html#

while the dates for every mission of theirs is announced on their website as well as all other media sources like TV, News papers, and social media pages you can then head to the following link and keep cheking if their registration is open.

https://lvg.shar.gov.in/VSCREGISTRATION/index.jsp

Keep any govt approved ID proof like Aadhar or pan handy as the registrations get closed really quick, the process is free and pretty slef explanatory to proceed.

Our experience:

This time the launch was scheduled for 2nd sept at 11.50 AM, Do mind that as time goes there is pretty heavy crowd as everyone turn up to try their luck to catch the launch atleast from the outside to ensure you make it atleast an hour before the launch so that you have a smooth parking process and you are able to walk in and head to the watch gallery on time.

The atmosphere is exciting and palpabale at the gallery as people are at their patriotic best. Keep looking out for set of 4 poles right in front of you, there are 2 such sets one to launch the PSLV and the other for GSLV rockets, while the air is filled with chants of ISRO, Bharat Mata ki Jai and Vande Mataram, its when we witness the actual rocket launch that a true sense of pride kicks in!! we do feel we have been a part of history and all the pain we took to drive all the way, brave the heat and get here are absolutely worth it

Some things to take with you:

1. Sunscreen

2. hat/cap/ umbrella

3. coolers

4. water

5. some fruit juices

6. Cut or whole fruits

7. Your food - Breakfast/ lunch/ dinner (based on launch time)

8. Blankets or sheet spreads

Once inside we get souvenirs, water, cool drinks, Ice creams, etc but we do not get any food and the most important thing to note is we dont get to leave that easily, Due to unprecendented crowd we were literally unable to move out of the parking lot and got roasted inside the car for some 40 mins before we were told that this would not move for the next hour or 2 so its better to put the car under some shade and chill for a bit, A lot of latecomers leave the cars where ever they can and run for the launch and so until all the cars are moved the early comers can not move their car, unfortunately there is just one gate from where you can enter and exit. While we were totally drained out and struglling with a crying toddler too, there were a few CISF officers who were kind enough to help us with extra water and some fruits and explained us the scanerio.

So if you ever plan to visit do not be in a hurry to leave, because you are not going to get anywhere, I would rather say take your time after the launch, explore the centre and museum to kill some time and then find a nice place under a tree or any nice shady place and have a picnic with your family, there are ample counters where you can go refill your water, spend a couple of hours and then leave the campus so that your exit could be hassle free.

Take plenty of things to keep you safe from the sun and hydrated, its very easy to get dehydrated and loose all your energy. On the whole yesterdays visit was physically and emotionally draining for us as we tried to balance the heat and a cranky toddler, though she was very cooperative and well behaved for most of the time but that one moment when i got to see the rocket taking off was absolutely worth every difficulty. If you are mentally prepared to stay back and also have the time for it, I would say this could be one of the best ways to picnic and bond as a family or set of friends while you also let your kids be a part of something educational and informative.