Which country became the third to launch a human being into orbit using its own spacecraft?
- A.Japan
- B.France
- C.China
- D.India
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, China. China launched Yang Liwei aboard Shenzhou-5 in October 2003, becoming the third country after the Soviet Union and the United States to send a human into orbit on its own rocket and spacecraft. China has since built its own space station, and its astronauts are called taikonauts.
Option A, Japan, and Option B, France, have sent astronauts to space, but always on Soviet, Russian, American or European missions, not on national crewed spacecraft. Option D, India, has not yet flown a crewed mission of its own; Gaganyaan is intended to be that first flight, and Rakesh Sharma's 1984 flight was on a Soviet spacecraft. The question tests independent capability, not whether a citizen of the country has ever been to space.
Read the full article: Gaganyaan and Human Spaceflight: Mission, Vehicle, Astronauts
Practice Questions
View allThe Gaganyaan mission will be launched by which vehicle?
- A.PSLV-XL
- B.GSLV Mk II
- C.Human-rated LVM3
- D.SSLV
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Gaganyaan will fly on the LVM3, the heaviest Indian launch vehicle, modified and certified for carrying human beings and then written as HLVM3.
Read the full explanation →Who was the first Indian to travel to space?
- A.Rakesh Sharma
- B.Kalpana Chawla
- C.Ravish Malhotra
- D.Sunita Williams
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Rakesh Sharma, then a Squadron Leader in the Indian Air Force, became the first Indian in space on 3 April 1984.
Read the full explanation →Rakesh Sharma travelled to space in 1984 aboard which spacecraft?
- A.Vostok 1
- B.Soyuz T-11
- C.Apollo 11
- D.Shenzhou-5
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Rakesh Sharma flew on Soyuz T-11, launched from Baikonur on 2 April 1984, and docked with the Soviet space station Salyut 7.
Read the full explanation →The TV-D1 mission of October 2023 was conducted mainly to test which system of Gaganyaan?
- A.The cryogenic upper stage
- B.The crew escape system
- C.The docking mechanism
- D.The lunar lander legs
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TV-D1, the first test vehicle abort mission, was launched from Sriharikota on 21 October 2023.
Read the full explanation →The orbital module of Gaganyaan consists of:
- A.Crew module and service module
- B.Lander and rover
- C.Orbiter and propulsion module
- D.Crew module and cryogenic stage
Show answer
The crew module is the pressurised double walled cabin where the astronauts live, and it is the only part that returns to Earth, protected by a heat shield and lowered by parachutes.
Read the full explanation →