RAS question
Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-S was India's first:
Correct answer: (B) Privately developed rocket to reach space.
Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-S was India's first privately developed rocket to reach space.
Explanation
Skyroot Aerospace launched Vikram-S under Mission Prarambh from Sriharikota on 18 November 2022. The PIB release records the Department of Space and ISRO treating the mission as a historic first private rocket launch for India, with Skyroot saying Vikram-S made history as the country's first private rocket to reach space. Vikram-S was a single-stage, solid-fuelled sounding rocket named after Vikram Sarabhai. That is why the answer is not about a satellite or a reusable launch vehicle. The tested milestone is India's entry into private-sector rocket launch capability, enabled through Skyroot's maiden mission rather than through a conventional ISRO-only launch.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) A private satellite is not the milestone here because private satellites already existed, while the PIB source identifies Vikram-S as India's first private rocket launch.
- (C) A nuclear-powered rocket is ruled out because India does not have such nuclear rockets, and Vikram-S was only a single-stage rocket.
- (D) A reusable rocket is wrong because reusable rockets were under continuing ISRO development, whereas Vikram-S was a suborbital sounding rocket on Mission Prarambh.
Concept
This tests Science and Technology current affairs around India's space-sector reforms and private launch capability. It recurs in RAS because Rajasthan-exam science questions often ask for the precise first, mission name and institution behind a recent national technology milestone.