RAS question
APPLE (Ariane Passenger Payload Experiment) was India's first:
Correct answer: (D) Experimental communication satellite.
APPLE, or Ariane Passenger Payload Experiment, was India’s first experimental geostationary communication satellite.
Explanation
APPLE was not a remote-sensing, navigation or weather satellite; it was India’s first experimental geostationary communication satellite. It was launched on 19 June 1981 by Ariane-1 from Kourou and was used to demonstrate satellite TV broadcasting, radio networking and data relay. ISRO’s payloads page supports the core classification by stating that the first experimental communication satellite of India, APPLE, was designed, fabricated and qualified at SAC and launched onboard the first experimental flight of Ariane. That is why the operative word in the MCQ is “experimental”: APPLE belongs to the communication-satellite line, not to later application-specific categories such as IRS remote sensing or IRNSS navigation.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Remote sensing is wrong because IRS-1A, not APPLE, was India’s first remote-sensing satellite.
- (B) Navigation is wrong because IRNSS-1A, not APPLE, was India’s first navigation satellite.
- (C) Weather satellite is wrong because INSAT-1A is linked to weather capability, while APPLE is classified as an experimental communication satellite.
Concept
This tests the Science and Technology part of the RAS syllabus on India’s space programme and early ISRO satellite milestones. It recurs because RAS often asks candidates to distinguish firsts across communication, remote sensing, navigation and meteorological applications.