Question 1 : Under whose leadership Space Research activities started in India?
Answer : Space Research Activities in India started during the early 1960s under the leadership of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai.
Question 2: Who is the founding father of Indian Space Programme?
Answer : The founding father of Indian Space Programme is Dr. Vikram Sarabhai.
Question 3 : What is INCOSPAR?
Answer : INCOSPAR stands for Indian National Committee for Space Research. It was set up in 1962 by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) under Dr.Vikram Sarabhai, to formulate the Indian Space Programme.
Question 4 : When was ISRO formed?
Answer : ISRO was formed on 15th August, 1969.
Question 5 : Why was the Space Commission constituted?
Answer : The Government of India constituted the Space Commission in June 1972, to formulate the policies and oversee the implementation of the Indian Space Programme to promote the development and application of space science and technology for the socio-economic benefit of the country.
Question 6 : Who heads the Space Commission?
Answer : The commission is headed by the Chairman of ISRO who is the secretary of Department of Space, Government of India. The commission works under the direct control of Prime Minister.
Question 7 : Which body is the highest policy-making body for matters related to space exploration in India?
Answer : The Space Commission.
Question 8 : What are the functions of Department of Space?
Answer: The functions of Department of Space are enlisted below:
- Implementation of the directions and decisions of Space Commission.
- Providing for the design, development and launching of rockets and satellites.
- Providing satellite transponders for meeting the telecommunications, television broadcasting, security requirements and societal applications.
- Providing the Earth observation capabilities for mapping and monitoring of natural resources and disaster management support.
- Providing space based products and services to the user community.
- Providing assistance for furtherance of research in space science and technology, including building up adequate manpower through training and capacity building.
Question 9 : What is Bhuvan?
Answer : It is a software application, which allows a users to explore a 3D representation of the surface of the Earth. Bhuvan allows users to view 2D and 3D images, alongwith information on soil, wasteland and water resources on the Indian subcontinent. Users can superimpose administrative boundaries of their choice, from a selection of boundaries available, on images as required.
Question 10 : Where is the headquarter of ISRO located?
Answer : Bengaluru.
Question 11 : What is IIRS?
Answer : IIRS (Indian Institute of Remote Sensing) is a unit of ISRO. It is a premier training and educational institute for capacity building in the field of remote sensing, geo-informatics and GPS technology for natural resources, environmental and disaster management.
Question 12: Where is IIRS located?
Answer : Dehradun.
Question 13 : What was IIRS formerly known?
Answer : It was formerly known as Indian Photo Interpretation Institute (IPI).
Question 14 : What is the function of ISTRAC?
Answer : The function of ISTRAC (ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network) is to provide Telemetry, Tracking and Command support to satellite and launch vehicle missions.
Question 15 : What are the various types of Orbits?
Answer : The various types of Orbits are:
- Near Earth Orbit
- Low Earth Orbit/Polar Orbit
- Sun Synchronous Orbit, &
- Geo-Stationary Orbit
Question 16 : What is Near Earth Orbit (NEO)?
Answer : It lies at an altitude of about 400 km above the surface of the Earth. Being the orbit closest to the earth, satellite orbiting here has to overcome greater gravitational pull of the earth. Generally experimental satellites are launched in the NEO. e.g. Aryabhatta an Rohini.
Question 17 : What is Low Earth Orbit/Polar Orbit?
Answer : It lies at an altitude of about 900 km above the surface of the Earth. It is circular orbit in which Remote Sensing Satellites (RSS) are launched. Remote sensing satellites follows a circular orbit moving from North pole to South pole therefore this orbit is also known as Polar Orbit.
Question 18 : What is Sun Synchronous Orbit?
Answer : It is a special type of polar orbit. Here the orbital plane of the satellite is always at the same constant angle relative to the Sun-Earth line during all seasons. These satellites operate in near circular orbit running nearly North to South at a fixed altitude ranging from 500-1000 km. Indian remote sensing satellites comes under this category.
Question 19 : What is Geo-stationary Orbit?
Answer : It lies at an altitude of 36,000 km from the surface of the Earth. Geo-stationary satellites follows circular orbit from West to East direction above the equator at the same speed as that of Earth’s rotation. Therefore, satellites orbiting here appear to be stationary from the Earth’s surface.
A geo-stationary satellite is synchronised in its orbit around the earth with the rotation of the Earth on its axis. Communications satellites and weather satellites are often given geo-stationary orbits.