1. ISRO at a Glance

• Parent body: Department of Space (DoS), Govt. of India
• Annual Budget 2024-25: ₹7,200 crore
• Employees: ≈ 17,000
• Commercial Arm: NSIL (NewSpace India Ltd.) – incorporated 2019
• Knowledge Arm: Antrix (now merged into NSIL)

2. Milestones & Mission Timeline

3. Launch Vehicles – Quick Reference

4. Satellite Systems

*Operational fleet as on Jan 2024.

5. Upcoming / Future Projects

6. Spaceports / Launch Pads

7. One-liner Rapid-Fire (Railway-friendly)

• ISRO was formed on Independence Day 1969.
• Vikram Sarabhai is the father of Indian space programme.
• Satish Dhawan gave ISRO the PSLV reliability culture.
• India’s 1st satellite: Aryabhata (1975).
• 1st successful indigenous launch vehicle: SLV-3 (1980).
• PSLV-C37 holds world record for 104 satellites.
• Mangalyaan cost less than Hollywood movie Gravity.
• Chandrayaan-1 discovered water on Moon using Moon Impact Probe (MIP).
• Aditya-L1 is stationed at Sun-Earth L1 Lagrange point (~1.5 million km).
• NavIC covers India + 1,500 km beyond; 7 satellites in orbit.
• Gaganyaan will use LVM3 launcher & a crew escape tower.
• NSIL replaced Antrix as commercial arm in 2022.
• SSLV can be assembled in 6 days by a 10-member team.
• ISRO’s cryogenic engine name: CE-20 (20-ton thrust).
• Space Applications Centre (SAC) is located at Ahmedabad.
• URSC (U. R. Rao Satellite Centre) is Bengaluru-based satellite hub.

8. 15+ Railway-style MCQs

Q1. Who is known as the father of the Indian space programme?
A. Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
B. Dr. Vikram Sarabhai
C. Dr. K. Kasturirangan
D. Prof. Satish Dhawan
Answer: B

Q2. In which year was ISRO established?
A. 1962
B. 1965
C. 1969
D. 1972
Answer: C

Q3. The first Indian satellite Aryabhata was launched in 1975 by which agency?
A. NASA
B. ESA
C. USSR
D. ISRO
Answer: C

Q4. Which launch vehicle placed the Rohini satellite in orbit on 18 July 1980?
A. ASLV
B. PSLV
C. SLV-3
D. GSLV
Answer: C

Q5. The cheapest Mars mission Mangalyaan was inserted into Martian orbit on
A. 24 September 2014
B. 5 November 2013
C. 15 August 2012
D. 8 June 2015
Answer: A

Q6. What is the total budgetary allocation for Department of Space in 2024-25?
A. ₹6,000 cr
B. ₹7,200 cr
C. ₹10,000 cr
D. ₹13,500 cr
Answer: B

Q7. Which PSLV flight holds the world record for launching 104 satellites?
A. PSLV-C34
B. PSLV-C35
C. PSLV-C36
D. PSLV-C37
Answer: D

Q8. India’s first solar observatory Aditya-L1 will be placed at
A. L2 point
B. L3 point
C. L1 point
D. Geostationary orbit
Answer: C

Q9. The cryogenic engine CE-20 is used in which launch vehicle?
A. GSLV Mk-II
B. LVM3
C. SSLV
D. ASLV
Answer: B

Q10. The NavIC constellation consists of how many operational satellites?
A. 5
B. 7
C. 9
D. 12
Answer: B

Q11. Where is the rocket launching port of ISRO located?
A. Bengaluru
B. Thiruvananthapuram
C. Sriharikota
D. Mahendragiri
Answer: C

Q12. Which of the following is the commercial arm of ISRO?
A. DRDO
B. NSIL
C. HAL
D. BHEL
Answer: B

Q13. The Chandrayaan-1 mission discovered water on the Moon using
A. Terrain Mapping Camera
B. Moon Impact Probe
C. Orbiter High-res Camera
D. Laser Retro-reflector
Answer: B

Q14. SSLV can place approximately ___ kg payload into 500 km SSO.
A. 100
B. 300
C. 500
D. 1,000
Answer: C

Q15. The space station proposed by India is targeted for which year?
A. 2028
B. 2030
C. 2035
D. 2040
Answer: C

Q16. Who was the ISRO chairman during the Chandrayaan-3 landing success (Aug 2023)?
A. A. S. Kiran Kumar
B. K. Sivan
C. S. Somanath
D. P. S. Veeraraghavan
Answer: C

Q17. The Gaganyaan mission will use which human-rated launch vehicle?
A. PSLV
B. GSLV Mk-II
C. LVM3
D. SSLV
Answer: C

Q18. India’s first multi-wavelength astronomy satellite is
A. AstroSat
B. Cartosat-3
C. INSAT-3DR
D. GSAT-30
Answer: A

Q19. The proposed Venus mission by ISRO is named
A. Mangalyaan-2
B. Shukrayaan-1
C. Chandrayaan-4
D. Aakash-1
Answer: B

Q20. The new spaceport under development in Tamil Nadu is located at
A. Kulasekarapattinam
B. Arakonam
C. Tuticorin
D. Rameswaram
Answer: A