SSC
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was established in:
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Answer: Option A — 1969
Detailed Solution
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was established on 15 August 1969.
About the founding of ISRO:
It succeeded the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), which was set up in 1962 under the Department of Atomic Energy, at the initiative of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai and with the support of Jawaharlal Nehru.
Dr. Vikram Sarabhai is called the "Father of the Indian Space Programme"; he was ISRO's first Chairman.
In 1972, the Government of India set up the Space Commission and the Department of Space (DoS), and ISRO was brought under the Department of Space.
Its headquarters is in Bengaluru.
India's first rocket was launched from Thumba, near Thiruvananthapuram, on 21 November 1963.
Important milestones:
Aryabhata: India's first satellite, launched by the Soviet Union on 19 April 1975.
SLV-3: India's first indigenous satellite launch vehicle; it placed the Rohini satellite in orbit in 1980 (project director A. P. J. Abdul Kalam).
Chandrayaan-1 (2008): discovered evidence of water molecules on the Moon.
Mangalyaan (Mars Orbiter Mission, 2013): India became the first country to reach Mars orbit in its first attempt (2014).
Chandrayaan-3: landed near the Moon's south pole on 23 August 2023, making India the first country to land there. 23 August is now "National Space Day".
Aditya-L1 (2023): India's first solar observatory, placed near the Lagrange point L1.
SpaDeX (2024-25): India's first space docking experiment.
Gaganyaan: India's human spaceflight programme.
Major centres:
- Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR), Sriharikota: the main launch site.
- Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram: rockets.
- R. Rao Satellite Centre, Bengaluru: satellites.
- Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad.
Recent chairmen: K. Sivan, S. Somanath, and V. Narayanan (since January 2025).
Its commercial arms are Antrix Corporation (1992) and NewSpace India Limited (NSIL, 2019). IN-SPACe (2020) promotes private space companies.
Why not the other options?
- ✗1962 is the year INCOSPAR was formed.
- ✗1972 is the year the Department of Space was formed.
- ✗1975 is the year Aryabhata was launched.
Quick tip
Remember: ISRO = 15 August 1969 (successor of INCOSPAR, 1962; Vikram Sarabhai; HQ Bengaluru; Department of Space 1972); Aryabhata 1975; Chandrayaan-3 landed 23 August 2023 (National Space Day).
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Space Technology & ISRO Missions — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Space Technology & ISRO Missions, 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 India's space programme: the history of ISRO, launch vehicles such as the PSLV and GSLV, satellites and their uses, India's missions to the Moon, Mars and the Sun, and major international space missions and agencies. Questions often ask when and from where a satellite or mission was launched, what it was meant to do, and which launch vehicle carried it. For example, Aryabhata was India's first satellite (1975), and Chandrayaan-3 landed near the Moon's south pole in 2023. New missions are launched every year, so pair these facts with recent current affairs. Practise the space technology and ISRO 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.