The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is widely recognized as the workhorse launch vehicle of ISRO.

Question

Read the following statements marked as Assertion (A) and Reason (R). Choose the correct option:

Assertion (A): The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is widely recognized as the workhorse launch vehicle of ISRO.

Reason (R): PSLV is highly versatile, capable of launching a diverse range of payloads into various Earth orbits (including Earth Observation, small Geosynchronous, and Navigation satellites), and boasts an exceptionally high mission success rate across its different variants.

1. A. Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A (Correct answer)
2. B. Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A
3. C. A is true, but R is false
4. D. A is false, but R is true

Correct Answer

Option A — Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.

Key Points

• Assertion is true. The PSLV is universally described as ISRO's workhorse launch vehicle.
• Reason is true and explains it. PSLV earns that name precisely because of its versatility and reliability — it places payloads into sun-synchronous, low Earth and geosynchronous transfer orbits, and its variants (PSLV-G, CA, XL, DL, QL) let ISRO match the vehicle to the payload.
• It carried India's flagship missions — Chandrayaan-1 (2008) and Mangalyaan / Mars Orbiter Mission (2013) — and set a record by launching 104 satellites on a single flight in February 2017.
• In Assertion-Reason questions, R explains A only when it supplies the cause; here versatility and success rate are exactly why the "workhorse" label is used.

Additional Information

• ISRO's launch vehicle family: SLV and ASLV (early), PSLV (the workhorse), GSLV Mk II, LVM3 / GSLV Mk III (the heaviest, used for Chandrayaan-3 and planned for Gaganyaan) and the SSLV for small satellites.
• Chandrayaan-3 achieved a soft landing near the lunar south pole in August 2023, making India the first country to do so.
• Aditya-L1, India's first solar observatory, was placed at the Lagrange point L1, about 1.5 million km from Earth, in January 2024.

प्रश्न (हिन्दी में)

अभिकथन (A) और कारण (R) से चिह्नित निम्नलिखित कथनों को पढ़ें। सही विकल्प चुनें: अभिकथन (A): ध्रुवीय उपग्रह प्रक्षेपण यान (PSLV) को इसरो के सबसे महत्वपूर्ण प्रक्षेपण यान के रूप में व्यापक रूप से मान्यता प्राप्त है। कारण (R): PSLV अत्यधिक बहुमुखी है, विभिन्न प्रकार के पेलोड को विभिन्न पृथ्वी की कक्षाओं (पृथ्वी अवलोकन, छोटे भू-समकालिक और नौवहन उपग्रहों सहित) में प्रक्षेपित करने में सक्षम है, और इसके विभिन्न प्रकारों में असाधारण रूप से उच्च मिशन सफलता दर का दावा करता है।

1. A. A और R दोनों सत्य हैं, और R, A का सही स्पष्टीकरण है
2. B. A और R दोनों सत्य हैं, लेकिन R, A का सही स्पष्टीकरण नहीं है
3. C. A सत्य है, लेकिन R असत्य है
4. D. A असत्य है, लेकिन R सत्य है