SSC
GSAT-7, the Indian Navy's first dedicated military communication satellite, was launched on:
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Answer: Option B — 30 August 2013
Detailed Solution
GSAT-7, also known as "Rukmini", was launched on 30 August 2013 by an Ariane 5 rocket from the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou in French Guiana (South America). It was built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and is India's first dedicated military communication satellite, built for the Indian Navy.
About GSAT-7:
- It is a geostationary communication satellite placed at about 74 degrees East longitude, above the Indian Ocean.
- It weighs about 2,650 kg.
- It provides secure, real-time communication links between the Navy's ships, submarines, aircraft and shore-based command centres, using UHF, S-band, C-band and Ku-band transponders.
- It covers a large area of the Indian Ocean region, about 2,000 nautical miles around India.
- It greatly improved the Navy's "network-centric" warfare capabilities and maritime domain awareness.
Other military satellites of India:
- GSAT-7A ("Angry Bird"): launched in December 2018 by GSLV-F11 for the Indian Air Force (and partly the Army).
- EMISAT: an electronic intelligence satellite for DRDO, launched in 2019.
- RISAT series: radar imaging satellites used for surveillance.
Why launched from abroad? In 2013, India's own GSLV rocket was not yet ready to reliably launch heavy communication satellites of this size, so many heavy Indian satellites were launched by the European Ariane rocket from Kourou. Today, ISRO's LVM3 (GSLV Mk III) can launch such satellites.
Why not the other options?
- ✗19 April 1975 is the launch date of Aryabhata, India's first satellite.
- ✗22 October 2008 is the launch date of Chandrayaan-1.
- ✗5 November 2013 is the launch date of Mangalyaan (Mars Orbiter Mission).
Quick tip
Remember: GSAT-7 "Rukmini" = Navy's first dedicated satellite, 30 August 2013, Ariane 5 from Kourou; GSAT-7A = Air Force (2018); Mangalyaan = 5 November 2013.
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Firsts in India & World — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Firsts in India & World, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the first persons and events in India and the world: the first Indian to win a Nobel Prize, the first woman to hold major offices, the first to climb Everest or reach space, and India's first institutions, newspapers, railways and satellites. It also covers the largest, longest, highest and smallest records in India and the world. These are pure memory questions, so revise them as short lists by theme: first women, first in sports, first in science and space, and first in governance. Be careful with the exact wording, such as 'first Indian' versus 'first person of Indian origin', or 'first woman President' versus 'first woman Prime Minister', since options are often designed to exploit this. Practise the firsts in India and the world questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.