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Science and Technology

Key Points at a Glance

Space & Defence: Indian Space Programme, Satellites, Launch Vehicles, Remote Sensing, Missiles, Drone Technology, Chemical/Biological Weapons

Paper II · Unit 2 Section 1 of 12 0 PYQs 32 min
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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: Rs 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 (Rs 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