Question

State whether the given statement is true or false. Aryabhata is the first Indian satellite.
A. TRUE
B. FALSE

Answer 1

First Indian satellite was named after the famous Indian astronomer. It was launched on april 19 1975 from a place called Kapustin Yar( it’s a Russian rocket launch established by Soviet Union). It was built by Indian Space Research Organization(ISRO).

Complete step by step answer:
The first successful satellite launched by India was the ARYABHATA. This satellite was named after the 5th century astronomer and mathematician Aryabhata. It was launched in April 1975. Its aphelion was 619 kilometers and perihelion of 563 kilometers. Also inclined at an angle 50.7. Its significance was to conduct experiments in X-ray astronomy, solar physics and economics. Its shape was a polyhedron with 26 sides, diameter being 1.4 meters.

All the faces of the satellite were covered with solar cells except top and bottom. Due to the power failure the experiments had to halt after 4 days and 60 orbits. All the signals were lost from the spacecraft after a total of 5 days. But the spacecraft remained active in space till MARCH 1981. Due to orbital decay the satellite shut and entered Earth’s atmosphere on February 11 ,1992.

Hence the correct option is A.

Note: Do not confuse India’s first satellite with its first communication satellite. They are 2 different things. The first communication satellite was APPLE (Ariane Passenger Payload Experiment) ; it was launched on June 19, 1981.