Consider the following statements with reference to the Gaganyaan Mission of ISRO:

Question

Consider the following statements with reference to the Gaganyaan Mission of ISRO:

I. The mission aims to place astronauts in a geostationary orbit.

II. It comprises two uncrewed flights followed by one crewed mission.

III. The human-rated launch vehicle for the mission is derived from LVM3.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are incorrect?

1. A. I only (Correct answer)
2. B. I and II only
3. C. II and III only
4. D. I and III only

Correct Answer

Option A — I only

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is I only.

Key Points

• Gaganyaan Mission: Statement I is incorrect — Gaganyaan targets a Low Earth Orbit (~400 km altitude), NOT geostationary orbit (~36,000 km).
• Statements II (two uncrewed missions followed by one crewed) and III (LVM3-derived human-rated launch vehicle) are correct.
• Only Statement I is incorrect.

Additional Information

• Gaganyaan targets Low Earth Orbit at roughly 400 km for a mission of up to three days with a three-member crew — nowhere near geostationary orbit at about 35,786 km, which is used by communication satellites such as the INSAT/GSAT series.
• The launch vehicle is the human-rated LVM3 (HLVM3), the former GSLV Mk-III, upgraded with a Crew Escape System for abort at any flight phase.
• The programme sequence is uncrewed test flights first, then the crewed mission; TV-D1, the first Test Vehicle Abort Mission, flew successfully in October 2023, and Vyommitra, a humanoid robot, is to fly on an uncrewed mission.
• Read the instruction word with care — this question asks which statements are incorrect. Reversing that requirement is the most common way marks are lost on statement-based items.