Which satellite was the first to be placed in orbit by an Indian launch vehicle?

The correct answer is B, Vikram Sarabhai. He chaired the Indian National Committee for Space Research set up in 1962, chose Thumba for the first sounding rocket launches and argued that a poor country needed space technology for communication, education and weather rather than for prestige. Option A is wrong because Homi J. Bhabha built the atomic energy programme, although the early space work was placed under his department. Option C is wrong because Satish Dhawan led ISRO after Sarabhai and the launch range at Sriharikota is named after him. Option D is wrong because U. R. Rao led the team that built Aryabhata and the satellite centre at Bengaluru carries his name. All four names appear in the options, so the exact contribution must be remembered.

The correct answer is B, 1969. ISRO was formed on 15 August 1969, taking over the work of the committee that had been running the programme. Option A is wrong because 1962 is the year in which the Indian National Committee for Space Research was set up under the Department of Atomic Energy with Vikram Sarabhai as chairman. Option C is wrong because 1972 is the year in which the Government created the Space Commission and the Department of Space, under which ISRO has worked since then. Option D is wrong because 1975 is the year of Aryabhata, India's first satellite. These four years are offered together in almost every question on the subject, so each must be tied to its own event. The date is easy to hold in memory because it falls on Independence Day, which papers sometimes use as the hint in the question itself.

The correct answer is C, Aryabhata. It was launched on 19 April 1975 from a Soviet launch site, was named after the astronomer of the fifth century and carried experiments in astronomy and solar physics. Option A is wrong because Bhaskara was the earth observation satellite that followed it. Option B is wrong because Rohini was the satellite placed in orbit in 1980 by the SLV-3, the first Indian launch vehicle, which is a different record. Option D is wrong because APPLE was an experimental communication satellite of the early 1980s, remembered for the photograph in which it was moved on a bullock cart. The trap in this question is the pair of 1975 and 1980, so read whether the question asks about the satellite or about the launch vehicle.

The correct answer is C, Bengaluru. The headquarters of ISRO and of the Department of Space are at Bengaluru, where the U R Rao Satellite Centre and the telemetry and tracking network ISTRAC are also located. Option A is wrong because New Delhi holds the ministries but not the headquarters of ISRO. Option B is wrong because Ahmedabad has the Space Applications Centre, which builds payloads and develops the uses of space data, and also IN-SPACe, the body that regulates private activity in space. Option D is wrong because Thiruvananthapuram has the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, where launch vehicles are designed. Matching centres with cities is the commonest question from this topic, so learn the table rather than single names. The Department of Space reports directly to the Prime Minister, which is a further fact set as a question on its own.

The correct answer is A, Sriharikota, an island on the coast of Andhra Pradesh, from which PSLV, GSLV and LVM3 flights take off. Option B is wrong because Thumba, near Thiruvananthapuram, is the equatorial station from which the first sounding rocket was launched on 21 November 1963, and it is not used for satellite launches. Option C is wrong because Hassan in Karnataka has the Master Control Facility, which controls communication satellites once they are in orbit. Option D is wrong because Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu is where liquid and cryogenic engines are tested. The question is made harder by offering four real ISRO places, so each place must be tied to its own function. Sriharikota was chosen because it lies close to the equator and has the sea to the east, so spent stages fall into open water.