UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Panel to probe repeated failures of PSLV, says ISRO

Q1. How many satellites were lost in the PSLV-C62 mission of January 2026, which prompted ISRO to constitute a national expert committee on PSLV failures?

  • A. 8
  • B. 12
  • C. 16
  • D. 24

Q2. Under which of the following does the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which has constituted the expert committee to probe the PSLV failures, function?

  • A. Ministry of Science and Technology
  • B. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
  • C. Department of Space, directly under the Prime Minister
  • D. Ministry of Defence through DRDO

Q3. With reference to the PSLV-C61 (May 2025) and PSLV-C62 (January 2026) missions, consider the following statements: 1. Both missions experienced anomalies during the third stage of the PSLV. 2. While PSLV-C61 failed due to a chamber pressure drop in the third stage, PSLV-C62 failed due to a roll-rate deviation observed in the third stage. 3. Both missions were intended to inject navigation satellites of the NavIC constellation into geostationary orbit. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Both missions experienced anomalies during the third stage of the PSLV.
  2. While PSLV-C61 failed due to a chamber pressure drop in the third stage, PSLV-C62 failed due to a roll-rate deviation observed in the third stage.
  3. Both missions were intended to inject navigation satellites of the NavIC constellation into geostationary orbit.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q4. Which one of the following is the lead centre of ISRO entrusted with the design and development of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)?

  • A. Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR), Sriharikota
  • B. Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram
  • C. U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), Bengaluru
  • D. Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), Valiamala

Q5. With reference to the high-level expert committee constituted by ISRO in 2026 to probe the repeated failures of the PSLV, consider the following: 1. K. Vijay Raghavan, former Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India 2. S. Somanath, former Chairman of ISRO 3. All the members of the committee are serving officials drawn from within ISRO. 4. The mandate of the committee extends beyond routine failure analysis to systemic and organisational issues in India's launch vehicle programme. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. K. Vijay Raghavan, former Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India
  2. S. Somanath, former Chairman of ISRO
  3. All the members of the committee are serving officials drawn from within ISRO.
  4. The mandate of the committee extends beyond routine failure analysis to systemic and organisational issues in India's launch vehicle programme.
  • A. 1 and 4 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4