UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — PARLIAMENT QUESTION: INDIA’S SPACE LAUNCH PROGRAMME

Q1. NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), the commercial arm of the Department of Space, was incorporated in which year?

  • A. 1969
  • B. 1972
  • C. 2019
  • D. 2023

Q2. With reference to the institutional architecture of India's space programme, consider the following statements: 1. NSIL is the commercial arm of the Department of Space. 2. IN-SPACe is the single-window autonomous agency that authorises and supervises the space activities of non-governmental entities. 3. ISRO is the executing and research agency for the country's space missions under the Department of Space. 4. The Department of Space functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Science and Technology. Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?

  1. NSIL is the commercial arm of the Department of Space.
  2. IN-SPACe is the single-window autonomous agency that authorises and supervises the space activities of non-governmental entities.
  3. ISRO is the executing and research agency for the country's space missions under the Department of Space.
  4. The Department of Space functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Science and Technology.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 4 only
  • C. 2 and 4 only
  • D. 3 and 4 only

Q3. Consider the following statements comparing Chandrayaan-3 with its predecessor Chandrayaan-2: 1. Chandrayaan-3 did not carry a dedicated orbiter and instead used a Propulsion Module to carry the Lander-Rover to lunar orbit. 2. With Chandrayaan-3, India became the fourth country to soft-land on the Moon and the first to land near its south polar region. 3. Chandrayaan-3 was launched on the PSLV, whereas Chandrayaan-2 was launched on the LVM3 (GSLV Mk III). Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Chandrayaan-3 did not carry a dedicated orbiter and instead used a Propulsion Module to carry the Lander-Rover to lunar orbit.
  2. With Chandrayaan-3, India became the fourth country to soft-land on the Moon and the first to land near its south polar region.
  3. Chandrayaan-3 was launched on the PSLV, whereas Chandrayaan-2 was launched on the LVM3 (GSLV Mk III).
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q4. Following the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, the Government of India declared 23 August to be observed each year as which of the following?

  • A. National Technology Day
  • B. National Science Day
  • C. National Space Day
  • D. National Astronomy Day

Q5. The SPADEX mission, which demonstrated India's first in-space docking of two spacecraft, was launched using which launch vehicle?

  • A. PSLV-C60
  • B. GSLV-F15
  • C. LVM3-M5
  • D. SSLV-D3

Q6. Consider the following statements about the SPADEX (Space Docking Experiment) mission: 1. With SPADEX, India became the third country, after the United States and Russia, to demonstrate in-space docking. 2. SPADEX demonstrated the docking of two small spacecraft that were launched together on a single rocket. 3. After achieving docking in January 2025, ISRO went on to demonstrate undocking of the SPADEX satellites in March 2025. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. With SPADEX, India became the third country, after the United States and Russia, to demonstrate in-space docking.
  2. SPADEX demonstrated the docking of two small spacecraft that were launched together on a single rocket.
  3. After achieving docking in January 2025, ISRO went on to demonstrate undocking of the SPADEX satellites in March 2025.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q7. Under a technology transfer agreement signed in September 2025, the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) technology was transferred for industrial-scale production to which entity?

  • A. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)
  • B. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)
  • C. Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL)
  • D. Larsen & Toubro (L&T)

Q8. With reference to ISRO's operational launch vehicles, consider the following statements: 1. PSLV is a four-stage vehicle using alternating solid and liquid propulsion stages. 2. SSLV can place satellites of 10-500 kg into a 500 km planar orbit. 3. LVM3 can place about 4-tonne class satellites into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. 4. SSLV is a four-stage vehicle designed to place 4-tonne class satellites into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. PSLV is a four-stage vehicle using alternating solid and liquid propulsion stages.
  2. SSLV can place satellites of 10-500 kg into a 500 km planar orbit.
  3. LVM3 can place about 4-tonne class satellites into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit.
  4. SSLV is a four-stage vehicle designed to place 4-tonne class satellites into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 3 and 4 only
  • C. 2 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q9. Consider the following statements about the NISAR mission: 1. NISAR carries a dual-frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar, with NASA providing the L-band radar and ISRO the S-band radar. 2. NISAR was launched on the PSLV from Sriharikota in 2025. 3. NISAR is the first joint satellite of ISRO and NASA and images the entire globe at a 12-day repeat interval. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. NISAR carries a dual-frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar, with NASA providing the L-band radar and ISRO the S-band radar.
  2. NISAR was launched on the PSLV from Sriharikota in 2025.
  3. NISAR is the first joint satellite of ISRO and NASA and images the entire globe at a 12-day repeat interval.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q10. Which of the following is the prime (primary) payload of the Aditya-L1 mission, designed to study the solar corona?

  • A. Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT)
  • B. Aditya Solar wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX)
  • C. Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC)
  • D. Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS)

Q11. With reference to ISRO's 100th launch from Sriharikota, consider the following statements: 1. It was the GSLV-F15 mission carrying the NVS-02 navigation satellite. 2. It took place in January 2025. 3. It was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC SHAR) in Andhra Pradesh. 4. The NVS-02 satellite carried on this launch was placed into a Sun-synchronous polar orbit. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. It was the GSLV-F15 mission carrying the NVS-02 navigation satellite.
  2. It took place in January 2025.
  3. It was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC SHAR) in Andhra Pradesh.
  4. The NVS-02 satellite carried on this launch was placed into a Sun-synchronous polar orbit.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 3 and 4 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q12. CMS-03 was described as the heaviest communication satellite launched to a 'Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO)' from Indian soil. In this context, a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit is best described as:

  • A. an elliptical intermediate orbit used to raise a satellite towards a circular geostationary orbit
  • B. a circular orbit at 36,000 km in which the satellite always remains permanently fixed over a single point on the equator
  • C. a low orbit that necessarily lies entirely within 500 km of the Earth's surface
  • D. a polar orbit in which the satellite passes over both poles on every single revolution