Latest Space General Knowledge(GK) Questions and answers

1 .

ISRO successfully launched the second developmental flight of the ________ with three satellites on February 10, 2023.

A)

PSLV-D2

B)

SSLV-D2

C)

GSLV-D2

D)

ASLV-D2

Correct Answer : SSLV-D2

The second developmental flight of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), SSLV-D2 was successfully launched on February 10, 2023, at 9:18 am from the first launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota.

* It injected EOS-07, Janus-1, and AzaadiSAT-2 satellites into a 450 km circular orbit, in its 15-minute flight.

* The first developmental flight of the SSLV from SDSC on August 7, 2022, failed due to vibration disturbance for a short duration on the equipment bay deck during the second stage separation.

* The main objectives of Friday’s mission were the demonstration of the designed payload capability of SSLV in low earth orbit and the injection of the EOS-07 satellite, and two passenger satellites Janus-1 and AzaadiSAT-2 into a 450 km circular orbit.

* SSLV-D2/EOS-07 Mission is accomplished successfully.

* SSLV-D2 placed EOS-07, Janus-1, and AzaadiSAT-2 into their intended orbits.

* SSLV caters to the launch of up to 500 kg satellites to low earth orbits on a ‘launch-on-demand’ basis. It provides low-cost access to space, offers low turn-around time and flexibility in accommodating multiple satellites, and demands minimal launch infrastructure.

* It is configured with three solid propulsion stages and a velocity terminal module. It is a 34 m tall, 2 m diameter vehicle having a lift-off mass of 120 tonne.

* The EOS-07 is a 156.3 kg satellite designed, developed, and realised by ISRO. New experiments include mm-Wave Humidity Sounder and Spectrum Monitoring Payload.

* Janus-1, a 10.2 kg satellite, belongs to ANTARIS, US. Janus-1 is a technology demonstrator, smart satellite mission, based on the Antaris software platform.

* The 8.7 kg satellite AzaadiSAT-2 is a combined effort of about 750 girl students across India guided by Space Kidz India, Chennai.

* It aims to demonstrate LoRa and amateur radio communication satellites, measure radiation levels in space, and demonstrate expanding satellite structure...

Source : Hindu businessline

2 .

Which space agencies will launch the joint satellite 'NISAR' in 2024?

A)

NASA-ISRO

B)

ESA-ISRO

C)

JAXA-ISRO

D)

ROSCOSMOS-ISRO

Correct Answer : NASA-ISRO

NISAR which was jointly built by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), got send-off ceremony in California before it ships out to its last stop in India.

Outside the facility, in front of a scale model of the NISAR satellite, NASA's NISAR Project Manager Phil Barela and ISRO's NISAR Project Director CV Shrikant ceremonially broke fresh coconuts.

The tradition, common in India, often marks auspicious occasions and signifies hope for a smooth road ahead. Leshin also presented the ISRO delegation with a jar of JPL lucky peanuts.

ISRO Chairman S Somanath, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Director Laurie Leshin, and dignitaries from NASA headquarters including Bhavya Lal, NASA's associate administrator for technology, policy, and strategy were present at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for the send-off.

"Today we come one step closer to fulfilling the immense scientific potential NASA and ISRO envisioned for NISAR when we joined forces more than eight years ago," Somanath said...

Source : Mint

3 .

Who has developed UnFurlable Reflector Antenna (UFRA) for space radar?

A)

HAL

B)

BARC

C)

DRDO

D)

Indian Army

Correct Answer : DRDO

Electronics and Radar Development Establishment (LRDE) has developed a major subsystem for a space radar, which holds significant potential for ISRO and the military.

* LRDE is a Bengaluru lab of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

* LRDE has been involved in the development of space-borne imaging radar for installation on satellites and has completed the development of an UnFurlable Reflector Antenna (UFRA).

* UFRA is one of the major subsystems of a radar.

* That radars for space applications require an antenna to be stowed in compact volume during launch and then deployed in the required shape once the satellite is in the required orbit ..

* The antenna, sources said, is likely to be part of a space-based military radar, which LRDE is working on. “The specific details about the radar cannot be divulged at this moment, but the development of UFRA is a key milestone in the development of the radar”.

* LRDE is a key DRDO lab with a mission to design and develop state-of-the-art radar systems meeting current and futuristic requirements of the tri-services, paramilitary forces, intelligence and strategic missions.

* It is also tasked with establishing indigenous production capability through industry partnership to achieve total self-reliance in the field radars besides promoting in-house research, engaging academia and industry to build competence towards creating a centre of excellence in the field of radar technologies.

Source : Tmes of India

4 .

For the Aditya L1 project of ISRO, who has made the Visible Line Emission Coronagraph (VLEC) payload?

A)

HAL

B)

DRDO

C)

IIT Mumbai

D)

Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) Bengaluru

Correct Answer : Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) Bengaluru

Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru handed over Visible Line Emission Coronagraph (VELC) payload for Aditya-L1 mission to ISRO in a ceremony held on January 26, 2023 at the Centre for Research and Education in Science and Technology (CREST) Campus, Hosakote, near Bengaluru.

VELC payload was designed and realised at CREST campus. The payload was handed over to Director, U R Rao Satellite Centre (USRC) by Director, IIA in the presence of Chairman, ISRO/ Secretary, DOS Shri S Somanth.

Project Director of Aditya-L1 Smt. NigarShaji, and Principal Investigator of VELC Dr. B Raghavendra Prasad were present on the occasion. The payload would be integrated to the satellite at URSC.

VELC has a mechanism to occult the solar disc to separate and discards the light from the disk.The light from the Corona is captured by the coronagraph for further processing. VELC aims to collect the data for solving how the temperature of the corona can reach about a million degrees while the Sun’s surface itself stays just over 6000 degrees Centigrade.

For this, the payload targets at the continuous observations of the Corona, right from its lowermost boundary upwards after having discarded the bright light from the solar disc.

VELC weighs 90 kg and is 1.7 m x 1.1 m x 0.7 m in dimension...

Source : ISRO

5 .

SpaceX Launches how many Starlink satellites from California on 19th January 2023?

A)

41

B)

44

C)

48

D)

51

Correct Answer : 51

SpaceX brought another big batch of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit on Thursday (19th Jan 2023), and landed a fresh first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket as well.

The booster topped with 51 of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites lifted off from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base on Thursday (19th January 2023) at 10:43 a.m. EST (1543 GMT; 7:43 a.m. local California time).

The Falcon 9's upper stage, meanwhile, hauled the Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit and was expected to deploy all 51 of them 29 minutes after liftoff, according to a SpaceX mission description(opens in new tab).

Starlink is SpaceX's broadband internet constellation, which currently consists of more than 3,300 operational satellites(opens in new tab).

That number is ever-increasing, as Thursday's liftoff shows, and may eventually become truly staggering. SpaceX has approval to launch 12,000 Starlink spacecraft and has applied for permission to loft nearly 30,000 more on top of that...

Source : Space

6 .

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Discovers New Exoplanet Named ________.

A)

LVS 465b

B)

LHS 475b

C)

LAS 485b

D)

LDS 495b

Correct Answer : LHS 475b

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that the James Webb Space Telescope has discovered its first new exoplanet.

Researchers have labelled the planet as LHS 475 b, and it’s roughly the same size as Earth. Located just 41 light-years away, the planet orbits very close to a red dwarf star and completes a full orbit in just two days.

Researchers hope that in the coming years, owing to the Webb telescope’s advanced capabilities, they will be able to detect more Earth-sized planets. So far, most of the discovered exoplanets are similar to Jupiter as Earth-sized planets are much smaller in size and harder to discover with older telescopes.

LHS 475b, It is roughly the same size as Earth, with a diameter of 99% that of Earth. It is a celestial, rocky planet located approximately 41 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Octane. It differs from Earth in two respects, first that it completes one orbit in only two days and secondly it is hundreds of degrees hotter than Earth.

About Exoplanet : Exoplanets are planets that orbit other stars and are away from our solar system. The first confirmation of the detection of an exoplanet was in the year 1992. The first confirmation of the detection of an exoplanet was in the year 1992. According to NASA, more than 5,000 exoplanets have been discovered so far. Exoplanets come in different sizes. They can be large and gaseous like Jupiter and small and rocky like Earth. There is also variation in their temperature, which can range from extremely hot (Boiling Hot) to extremely cold (Freezing Cold)...

Source : The Hindu

7 .

In which year ISRO's 'Shukrayan I' mission to Venus has shifted?

A)

2031

B)

2029

C)

2027

D)

2025

Correct Answer : 2031

P. Sreekumar, the Satish Dhawan Professor at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and advisor to its space science programme, stated in a talk on January 9 that the organisation has not yet received approval from the Indian government for the Venus mission and that, as a result, the mission may be delayed until 2031.

Shukrayaan I, the ISRO Venus mission, was scheduled to launch in December 2024. The concept was conceived in 2012; five years later, after the Department of Space got a 23% increase in the 2017–2018 budget, ISRO started preliminary investigations. In April 2017, the organisation requested payload proposals from research institutions.

The best time to launch from Earth to Venus is once every 19 months or thereabouts. In case it misses the 2024 window, ISRO has "backup" launch dates in 2026 and 2028.

But every eight years, new better windows present themselves that further cut down on the quantity of fuel needed for takeoff.

Shukrayaan I was "initially scheduled for a 2023 launch," according to Sreekumar, who was speaking at an Indo-French astronomy conference at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics in Bengaluru.

However, "right now the 2031 window is extremely excellent," he added. Before spacecraft assembly and testing, he stressed, the project must have "official approval and funding."

In the budget year 2022–2023, ISRO was given an allocation of 13,700 crores, a small increase from the previous year.

Gaganyaan, the human spaceflight mission, received the majority of it. Various industry groups have created a wishlist ahead of the upcoming budget announcement and in response to recent reforms in the private spaceflight sector, which include increases in local manufacturing and procurement...

Source : Times Now News

8 .

Airtel-backed OneWeb has successfully launched and deployed how many satellites on a SpaceX launcher on 9th January 2023?

A)

30 Satellites

B)

35 Satellites

C)

40 Satellites

D)

45 Satellites

Correct Answer : 40 Satellites

OneWeb, the London-based satellite internet services company backed by Indian conglomerate Bharti Enterprises and the UK government, 10th Jan 2023 announced the successful deployment of 40 if its satellites launched by SpaceX.

* This marks OneWeb’s 16th launch so far and the company only needs two more launches to complete its first-generation constellation.

* A SpaceX rocket lifted off with the rockets from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 11.50 PM ET on 9th January 2023. (10.20 AM IST on January 10). The rockets were deployed into orbit in three phases over a period of one hour and 35 minutes and OneWeb was able to confirm signal acquisition on all of the 40 satellites.

* With the launch, OneWeb has a total of 542 operation satellites in orbit (two satellites failed), which is more than 83 per cent of the total 648 satellites planned by the company.

* Apart from SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, OneWeb satellites have also been launched aboard the Russian Soyuz launch vehicle and ISRO’s LVM-3 rocket.

* Interestingly, OneWeb is also a direct competitor of SpaceX’s Starlink service. Once its satellite network is fully deployed, OneWeb plans to provide low-latency high-speed satellite internet services using constellations of low-Earth satellites, exactly like Starlink..

Source : Indian Express

9 .

ISRO has signed (5th Jan 2023) a MoU with which company to help Indian space tech startups with technology tools?

A)

Tesla

B)

Google

C)

Microsoft

D)

Amazon

Correct Answer : Microsoft

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Microsoft on Thursday (5th Jan 2023) signed an MoU to help space-tech startups and, in turn, boost the growth of space technology in the country.

"The MoU seeks to empower space-tech startups across the country with technology tools and platforms, go-to market support and mentoring to help them scale and become enterprise-ready..." a statement issued by Microsoft in Bengaluru.

Through this tie-up, space tech startups identified by ISRO will be on-boarded on to the Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub platform that supports startups at every stage - from idea to unicorn.

Microsoft said through its platform, space-tech startup founders in India will have free access to tech tools and resources they need to build and run their business.

Isro chairman S Somanath was quoted as having said : "The collaboration will benefit space-tech startups in their analysis and processing of vast amounts of satellite data for various applications, using cutting-edge methods like AI, machine learning and deep learning."

Microsoft India president Anant Maheshwari said : "Through our technology tools, platforms and mentorship opportunities, we are committed to empowering space-tech startups to drive cutting-edge innovation and accelerate scientific discovery."..

Source : Times of India

10 .

Who has launched (3rd Jan 2023) its second satellite Pushan-Alpha as rideshare onboard SpaceX's Transporter-6 mission from Cape Canaveral in Florida, US?

A)

Aadyah Aerospace

B)

Spacerolls Aerospace

C)

Xovian Aerospace

D)

Digantara Aerospace

Correct Answer : Digantara Aerospace

Space sector start-up "Digantara" on Tuesday (3rd Jan 2023) launched its second satellite Pushan-Alpha as a rideshare onboard SpaceX’s Transporter-6 mission that soared to the low earth orbit from Cape Canaveral in Florida, US.

* The satellite will serve as a space weather testbed in the sun synchronous orbit for enhancing precision driven situational space awareness applications, Digantara Aerospace founder and CEO Anirudh Sharma told.

* Sharma said the Pushan-Alpha observations will help complement Digantara’s ROBI (ROBust Integrating proton fluence meter) mission, the world’s first commercial space-based space weather monitoring system onboard ISRO’s PSLV-C53 launched on June 30, 2022.

* The Pushan-Alpha mission is named after the Hindu solar deity considered as the god of journeys and protector of travellers.

* The Pushan-Alpha mission has a three-fold objective — to extend radiation measurements to the sun synchronous orbit; to assess mid to high energy particle radiation from the South Atlantic Anomaly; and to investigate any co-relation of atmospheric drag and particle environment for enhanced orbit and debris modelling.

* Bengaluru-based Digantara is developing end-to-end infrastructure to address the difficulties of space operations and space traffic management through its Space Mission Assurance Platform..

Source : The Print

Space - General Knowledge Questions