RAS question
NISAR was launched in July 2025 aboard which ISRO launch vehicle from Sriharikota?
Correct answer: (C) GSLV-F16.
NISAR was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, on July 30, 2025 aboard ISRO's GSLV-F16 launch vehicle.
Explanation
NISAR was not a generic satellite launch to be matched only with the date; it was specifically the GSLV-F16 mission. The official ISRO mission page says the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite was to be launched by ISRO's GSLV-F16 on July 30, 2025 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, and GSLV-F16 delivered NISAR to orbit. GSLV-F16 was the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark II, Flight 16, used for the July 30, 2025 NISAR launch. The key exam clue is therefore the mission code, not merely the launch site or month.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) PSLV-C58 is wrong because the official ISRO mission page links the July 30, 2025 NISAR launch to GSLV-F16, not to a PSLV mission.
- (B) SSLV-D3 is wrong because ISRO's NISAR mission record names GSLV-F16 as the vehicle that delivered NISAR to orbit.
- (D) LVM3-M5 is wrong because the official NISAR launch entry specifies GSLV-F16 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, for this mission.
Concept
This tests current Science and Technology awareness, especially India's launch vehicles and major ISRO collaboration missions. RAS repeats such mission-code questions because they combine space technology, institutional cooperation and factual precision from official releases.