India's indigenously developed cryogenic upper stage flew successfully for the first time on which mission?
- A.GSLV-D1 in 2001
- B.GSLV-D3 in 2010
- C.GSLV-D5 in 2014
- D.LVM3-M1 in 2017
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, GSLV-D5 in January 2014. That flight carried the GSAT-14 communication satellite and was the first success of the indigenous cryogenic upper stage, which put India among the small group of countries able to build such an engine. Cryogenic technology is hard because liquid hydrogen must be held near minus 253 degrees Celsius and pumped into a running engine.
Option A, GSLV-D1 of April 2001, was the vehicle's first flight and used a Russian-supplied cryogenic stage, not an Indian one. Option B, GSLV-D3 of 2010, was the first attempt to fly the Indian stage and it failed, so the flight is remembered as the attempt rather than the success. Option D, the first orbital flight of LVM3 in June 2017, used the larger C25 cryogenic stage and came three years after the technology had already been proved on GSLV-D5.
Read the full article: ISRO Launch Vehicles: PSLV, GSLV, LVM3 and SSLV Notes
Practice Questions
View allChandrayaan-3 was placed in orbit by which Indian launch vehicle?
- A.PSLV-XL
- B.GSLV Mk II
- C.LVM3
- D.SSLV
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Chandrayaan-3 weighed close to 3,900 kg at lift-off, far beyond the reach of any lighter Indian rocket, so it flew on LVM3, the vehicle earlier named GSLV Mk III.
Read the full explanation →Which was the first Indian launch vehicle to place a satellite in orbit, and which satellite did it carry?
- A.ASLV, carrying SROSS-C
- B.SLV-3, carrying Rohini RS-1
- C.PSLV, carrying IRS-1A
- D.SLV-3, carrying Aryabhata
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On 18 July 1980 the four-stage, all-solid SLV-3 placed the small Rohini RS-1 satellite in a low earth orbit from Sriharikota, and India became the sixth nation able to launch its own satellite.
Read the full explanation →How many stages does the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) have?
- A.Two
- B.Three
- C.Four
- D.Five
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The PSLV is unusual in alternating propellants between its stages: the first and third stages burn solid propellant and the second and fourth burn liquid propellant.
Read the full explanation →In the GSLV Mk II, which stage is the cryogenic stage?
- A.First stage
- B.Second stage
- C.Third stage
- D.Fourth stage
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The GSLV has three stages: a solid core first stage with four liquid strap-on motors, a liquid second stage using a Vikas engine, and a cryogenic upper stage that burns liquid hydrogen with liquid oxygen.
Read the full explanation →Chandrayaan-1 and the Mars Orbiter Mission were both launched by which vehicle?
- A.GSLV Mk III
- B.PSLV
- C.SLV-3
- D.GSLV Mk II
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Chandrayaan-1 went up on PSLV-C11 in October 2008 and the Mars Orbiter Mission on PSLV-C25 in November 2013, both in the extended PSLV-XL configuration with six long strap-on motors.
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