Who was the first Indian to travel to space?
- A.Rakesh Sharma
- B.Kalpana Chawla
- C.Ravish Malhotra
- D.Sunita Williams
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, Rakesh Sharma. Rakesh Sharma, then a Squadron Leader in the Indian Air Force, became the first Indian in space on 3 April 1984. He flew on the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz T-11 to the Salyut 7 space station under the Interkosmos programme and spent about eight days in orbit, and he was awarded the Ashoka Chakra.
Option B, Kalpana Chawla, was the first woman of Indian origin in space, but she flew for NASA in 1997, thirteen years later. Option C, Ravish Malhotra, was the backup cosmonaut for the same 1984 mission and trained alongside Rakesh Sharma but did not fly, which makes him the strongest distractor. Option D, Sunita Williams, is an American astronaut of Indian origin who flew long duration missions to the International Space Station. Only Rakesh Sharma flew as an Indian citizen representing India.
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 →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
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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 →ISRO's dedicated centre for the human spaceflight programme is located at:
- A.Thiruvananthapuram
- B.Bengaluru
- C.Ahmedabad
- D.Sriharikota
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The Human Space Flight Centre, set up in 2019 as the ISRO centre responsible for the Gaganyaan programme, works from Bengaluru, which is also the location of the ISRO headquarters, the U R Rao Satellite Centre and the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network.
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