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
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, SLV-3 carrying Rohini RS-1. 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. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam was the project director of the vehicle.
Option A names the Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle, which came later and carried the SROSS series; its first two flights failed. Option C is wrong on both counts, because the PSLV first flew in 1993 and IRS-1A of 1988 was launched by a Soviet rocket. Option D pairs the right vehicle with the wrong satellite: Aryabhata, India's first satellite, was launched in 1975 by a Soviet launcher from Kapustin Yar, five years before India had a vehicle of its own. Keep 1975 for the first satellite and 1980 for the first Indian launch.
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
Show answer
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 →How many stages does the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) have?
- A.Two
- B.Three
- C.Four
- D.Five
Show answer
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
Show answer
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
Show answer
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.
Read the full explanation →Indian satellites are launched into orbit from which centre?
- A.Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram
- B.Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota
- C.U R Rao Satellite Centre, Bengaluru
- D.Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad
Show answer
It is India's only orbital launch site, on the east coast, so vehicles can fly out eastwards over the Bay of Bengal and take the free gain from the earth's rotation while the spent stages fall harmlessly into the sea.
Read the full explanation →