Which of the following is ISRO's smallest launch vehicle, designed for launching small satellites on demand?
- A.SSLV
- B.PSLV-CA
- C.ASLV
- D.LVM3
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, the SSLV, or Small Satellite Launch Vehicle. It has three solid stages and a small liquid velocity trimming module, carries up to about 500 kg to a 500 km low earth orbit, and is designed to be assembled and launched by a small team within days so that a customer with one satellite need not wait for a shared ride.
Option B, PSLV-CA, is the core-alone version of the PSLV flown without strap-on motors; it is a lighter configuration of a large rocket, not a small vehicle in its own right. Option C, ASLV, was an experimental vehicle of the 1980s and 1990s with a capacity of about 150 kg and is no longer in service, so it cannot be the answer to a question about a current vehicle. Option D, LVM3, is at the opposite end of the family as India's heaviest operational rocket.
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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