Topic 72: Space & Defence – ISRO, Satellites,

Study Material

Paper Paper II

Unit 2

1. ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) - Established on 15 August 1969, replacing INCOSPAR - Headquarters: Bengaluru (Space Centre), Ahmedabad (SAC), Thiruvananthapuram (VSSC) - India's first rocket launched from Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) on 21 November 1963 (carrying a sodium vapour payload)
2. PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) - Workhorse of ISRO; four-stage (solid-liquid alternating) - Payload: ~3.8 t to LEO, ~1.75 t to SSO - Over 60 successful flights; launched 342 foreign satellites from 34 countries - Notable missions: Chandrayaan-1 (2008), Mars Orbiter Mission (2013), Cartosat series
3. GSLV / LVM3 (Launch Vehicle Mark 3) - Designed for heavier payloads to GTO - LVM3 can carry 4 t to GTO or 10 t to LEO — India's most powerful operational rocket - LVM3 launched OneWeb satellites (2022–23) commercially - Used for Chandrayaan-3 (2023) and will launch Gaganyaan
4. Chandrayaan-3 - Achieved the first-ever soft landing at the lunar south pole on 23 August 2023 - Vikram lander deployed Pragyan rover; rover operated for one lunar day (~14 Earth days) - India became the 4th nation to land on the Moon and the 1st to land at the south pole
5. Aditya-L1 - India's first solar observatory mission, launched 2 September 2023 by PSLV-C57 - Reached Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 1 (L1) on 6 January 2024 — 1.5 million km from Earth - Studies solar corona, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), and solar wind - Carries 7 payloads (6 Indian + 1 international)
6. Gaganyaan - India's first human spaceflight mission; 3-day mission to 400 km LEO - Crew: 4 Indian Air Force test pilots — Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, Angad Pratap, Ajit Krishnan, Shubhanshu Shukla - Trained at Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre, Russia; unmanned test flight (TV-D1) conducted October 2023 - Target: first crewed mission 2025
7. Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) - Launched 5 November 2013; reached Mars orbit 24 September 2014 - India became the first Asian nation and the first nation in the world to reach Mars on its debut mission - Budget: ₹450 crore (~$74 million) — less than the Hollywood film "Gravity" ($100 million)
8. IGMDP (Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme) - Launched 1983 under Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam; developed 5 missiles: Prithvi, Agni, Akash, Trishul, Nag - Agni ballistic missile range: 700 to 8,000+ km - BrahMos (India-Russia joint venture, 1998) — fastest operational cruise missile (~Mach 2.8)
9. Remote Sensing Satellites - Satellites collect Earth surface data without physical contact using onboard sensors - RESOURCESAT (LISS cameras, 5.8 m resolution) monitors agriculture, forest cover, and disasters - CARTOSAT-3 (2019, 0.25 m resolution — India's highest) used for defence and urban mapping - RISAT (Radar Imaging Satellite) provides all-weather, day-night surveillance
10. NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) - India's indigenous GPS alternative; 7 operational satellites (3 geostationary + 4 geosynchronous) - Accurate to < 20 metres in primary service area: India + 1,500 km surroundings - Provides 2-signal (L5 + S band) vs GPS's 1 public signal - India mandated NavIC in all smartphones from 2023 (BIS standards)
11. Chemical Weapons - Use toxic chemicals to kill or incapacitate; classified as weapons of mass destruction - Types: nerve agents (sarin, VX — inhibit acetylcholinesterase), blister agents (mustard gas — skin/eye damage), blood agents (cyanide compounds — disrupt oxygen use) - Banned under Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), 1993; India is a signatory - OPCW (Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) enforces the treaty — awarded Nobel Peace Prize 2013
12. Biological Weapons - Use pathogens (bacteria, viruses, toxins) as weapons; banned under Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), 1972 - BWC was the first international treaty to ban an entire category of WMDs - Key threats: anthrax (Bacillus anthracis), smallpox virus, plague, ricin toxin, botulinum toxin - India ratified BWC in 1974
13. Drone Technology - India's Drone Policy 2021 (liberalised) and PLI scheme (₹120 crore) aim to build domestic manufacturing - Key Indian makers: ideaForge (India's largest drone maker), Garuda Aerospace, Drona Aviation - Indian Army operates Heron and Rustom-2 (TAPAS-BH) surveillance drones - DRDO's Abhyas (aerial target drone) and Nirbhay (subsonic cruise missile/drone) under development
14. ISRO's Commercial and Policy Framework - NewSpace India Limited (NSIL, 2019) is ISRO's commercial arm — replaced Antrix Corporation for new contracts - NSIL handles: small satellite launches, OneWeb contracts, technology transfer - IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre, 2020) — regulatory body for private space sector - Space Policy 2023 permits private sector to build launch vehicles and satellites

Key facts

ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) — Established on 15 August 1969, replacing INCOSPAR
PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) — Workhorse of ISRO; four-stage (solid-liquid alternating) — Payload: ~3.8 t to LEO, ~1.75 t to SSO
GSLV / LVM3 (Launch Vehicle Mark 3) — Designed for heavier payloads to GTO — LVM3 can carry 4 t to GTO or 10 t to LEO
Chandrayaan-3 — Achieved the first-ever soft landing at the lunar south pole on 23 August 2023
Aditya-L1 — India's first solar observatory mission, launched 2 September 2023 by PSLV-C57 — Reached Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 1 (L1) on 6 January 2024

Key Points at a Glance

1
ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation)
- Established on 15 August 1969, replacing INCOSPAR
- Headquarters: Bengaluru (Space Centre), Ahmedabad (SAC), Thiruvananthapuram (VSSC)
- India's first rocket launched from Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) on 21 November 1963 (carrying a sodium vapour payload)
2
PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle)
- Workhorse of ISRO; four-stage (solid-liquid alternating)
- Payload: ~3.8 t to LEO, ~1.75 t to SSO
- Over 60 successful flights; launched 342 foreign satellites from 34 countries
- Notable missions: Chandrayaan-1 (2008), Mars Orbiter Mission (2013), Cartosat series
3
GSLV / LVM3 (Launch Vehicle Mark 3)
- Designed for heavier payloads to GTO
- LVM3 can carry 4 t to GTO or 10 t to LEO — India's most powerful operational rocket
- LVM3 launched OneWeb satellites (2022–23) commercially
- Used for Chandrayaan-3 (2023) and will launch Gaganyaan
4
Chandrayaan-3
- Achieved the first-ever soft landing at the lunar south pole on 23 August 2023
- Vikram lander deployed Pragyan rover; rover operated for one lunar day (~14 Earth days)
- India became the 4th nation to land on the Moon and the 1st to land at the south pole
5
Aditya-L1
- India's first solar observatory mission, launched 2 September 2023 by PSLV-C57
- Reached Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 1 (L1) on 6 January 2024 — 1.5 million km from Earth
- Studies solar corona, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), and solar wind
- Carries 7 payloads (6 Indian + 1 international)
6
Gaganyaan
- India's first human spaceflight mission; 3-day mission to 400 km LEO
- Crew: 4 Indian Air Force test pilots — Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, Angad Pratap, Ajit Krishnan, Shubhanshu Shukla
- Trained at Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre, Russia; unmanned test flight (TV-D1) conducted October 2023
- Target: first crewed mission 2025
7
Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan)
- Launched 5 November 2013; reached Mars orbit 24 September 2014
- India became the first Asian nation and the first nation in the world to reach Mars on its debut mission
- Budget: ₹450 crore (~$74 million) — less than the Hollywood film "Gravity" ($100 million)
8
IGMDP (Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme)
- Launched 1983 under Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam; developed 5 missiles: Prithvi, Agni, Akash, Trishul, Nag
- Agni ballistic missile range: 700 to 8,000+ km
- BrahMos (India-Russia joint venture, 1998) — fastest operational cruise missile (~Mach 2.8)
9
Remote Sensing Satellites
- Satellites collect Earth surface data without physical contact using onboard sensors
- RESOURCESAT (LISS cameras, 5.8 m resolution) monitors agriculture, forest cover, and disasters
- CARTOSAT-3 (2019, 0.25 m resolution — India's highest) used for defence and urban mapping
- RISAT (Radar Imaging Satellite) provides all-weather, day-night surveillance
10
NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation)
- India's indigenous GPS alternative; 7 operational satellites (3 geostationary + 4 geosynchronous)
- Accurate to < 20 metres in primary service area: India + 1,500 km surroundings
- Provides 2-signal (L5 + S band) vs GPS's 1 public signal
- India mandated NavIC in all smartphones from 2023 (BIS standards)
11
Chemical Weapons
- Use toxic chemicals to kill or incapacitate; classified as weapons of mass destruction
- Types: nerve agents (sarin, VX — inhibit acetylcholinesterase), blister agents (mustard gas — skin/eye damage), blood agents (cyanide compounds — disrupt oxygen use)
- Banned under Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), 1993; India is a signatory
- OPCW (Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) enforces the treaty — awarded Nobel Peace Prize 2013
12
Biological Weapons
- Use pathogens (bacteria, viruses, toxins) as weapons; banned under Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), 1972
- BWC was the first international treaty to ban an entire category of WMDs
- Key threats: anthrax (Bacillus anthracis), smallpox virus, plague, ricin toxin, botulinum toxin
- India ratified BWC in 1974
13
Drone Technology
- India's Drone Policy 2021 (liberalised) and PLI scheme (₹120 crore) aim to build domestic manufacturing
- Key Indian makers: ideaForge (India's largest drone maker), Garuda Aerospace, Drona Aviation
- Indian Army operates Heron and Rustom-2 (TAPAS-BH) surveillance drones
- DRDO's Abhyas (aerial target drone) and Nirbhay (subsonic cruise missile/drone) under development
14
ISRO's Commercial and Policy Framework
- NewSpace India Limited (NSIL, 2019) is ISRO's commercial arm — replaced Antrix Corporation for new contracts
- NSIL handles: small satellite launches, OneWeb contracts, technology transfer
- IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre, 2020) — regulatory body for private space sector
- Space Policy 2023 permits private sector to build launch vehicles and satellites

Introduction & Scope

Topic 72 is an India-specific study unit on the institutions, missions, launch vehicles, satellites, missiles, drones and WMD-control treaties that RPSC can test in science and technology.

Topic 72 covers India's achievements in space (ISRO) and defence (DRDO/missiles) — both of which have been regularly tested. The 2026 exam is likely to feature Chandrayaan-3 (August 2023 landmark), Gaganyaan (upcoming crewed mission, now officially targeted for 2027-28), Aditya-L1 (solar mission), and drone policy — all post-2022 developments not fully captured in earlier papers.

Scope Precision

Scope: India — this topic requires India-specific facts (mission dates, satellite names, missile names, policy year, budget).
Generic orbital mechanics belongs to Topic 68; Vikram Sarabhai/APJ Kalam biography belongs to Topic 71.
This topic focuses on operational programmes, missions, and outcomes.
Chemical/biological weapons are conceptual (global treaties) but examined in India's context (India's ratification, OPCW membership).

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PREDICTED Predicted RAS Questions

Based on PYQ trends and 2026 syllabus analysis

1 5M Describe India's achievements in the Chandrayaan-3 mission. Why is landing at the lunar south pole significant? 5 marks · 50 words

Model Answer

India's Chandrayaan-3 mission achieved the world's first soft landing at the lunar south pole on 23 August 2023 (Vikram lander at 69.37° S). India became the 4th nation to land on the Moon and the 1st at the south pole. Pragyan rover confirmed sulphur, iron, and other elements in-situ for the first time in the south pole region. Significance: The lunar south pole's permanently shadowed craters contain water ice — a crucial resource for future crewed Moon bases, rocket fuel production, and life support.

~50 words • 5 marks