Science · X-Factor Notes
Space revision notes for UPPCS Prelims.
High-Yield Revision| Concept | What to remember | Asked in UPPCS |
|---|---|---|
| Sputnik-1 | The first artificial Earth satellite. | |
| First Satellite of India | Aryabhatta was the first satellite launched by India, named after the great Indian astronomer. It weighed 360 kg and was launched by the Soviet Union on April 19, 1975. | U.P. Lower Sub. (Pre) 2009, UPPCS (Mains) 2006 |
| First Woman Cosmonaut | Valentina Tereshkova (Russian cosmonaut) was the first woman to fly to space (Vostok-6 mission, June 16, 1963). | U.P. Lower Sub. (Spl.) (Pre) 2004, UPPCS (Pre) 2001 |
| Space Age Entry | India entered the space age by launching Aryabhatta.(1975) | |
| INSAT I-D Launch | This multifunctional satellite provides telephone, television, and weather observation service for India. (1990) | UPPCS (Pre) 1994 |
| INSAT-2A Launch | Launched on July 10, 1992 | UPPCS (Pre) 1990 |
| INSAT-4A Launch | The first in the INSAT-4 series, launched successfully on December 22, 2005. | UPPCS (Spl.) (Mains) 2004 |
| First Educational Services Satellite | The educational satellite of ISRO (EDUSAT) was launched on September 20, 2004. | UPPCS (Mains) 2004 |
| First Meteorological Satellite (METSAT) | India launched its first full-fledged meteorological satellite (METSAT) in September 2002. METSAT was later renamed Kalpana-I. | UPPCS (Mains) 2004, UPPCS (Pre) 2003 |
| Heavy Telecommunication Satellite Launch | GSAT-10 was successfully launched on 29th September, 2012. | UPPCS (Mains) 2012 |
| Concept | What to remember | Asked in UPPCS |
|---|---|---|
| Indian Space Programme Chronological Order (SITE, STEP, APPLE, IGMD) | SITE (1975) STEP (1977) APPLE (1981) IGMD (1983). | UPPCS (Pre) 1998 |
| Launch Vehicle Chronological Order (SLV, ASLV, PSLV, GSLV) | SLV (1979) |
| Concept | What to remember | Asked in UPPCS |
|---|---|---|
| Master Control Facility (MCF) | Located at Hasan, Karnataka (established 1982), used for monitoring and controlling geostationary and geosynchronous satellites. Another MCF exists in Bhopal. | U.P.P.S.C. (GIC) 2010 |
| VSSC (Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre) | Located in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Primarily concerned with research in propellants for launching rockets and development of satellite launch vehicles. | U.P. U.D.A./L.D.A. (Pre) 2010, UPPCS (Mains) 2004 |
| Concept | What to remember | Asked in UPPCS |
|---|---|---|
| Geostationary Satellite Period | Has the same orbital period as Earth's rotation period, which is 24 hours. | UPPCS (Mains) 2010, U.P. R.O./A.R.O. (Mains) 2016 |
| Geostationary Orbit Height | Geostationary satellites revolve at a fixed height (approx. 35,786 km above the equator). | |
| Communication Satellite Layer |
| Concept | What to remember | Asked in UPPCS |
|---|---|---|
| Gravitational Waves | The purpose of the 'evolved Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (eLISA)' project is to detect gravitational waves. Gravitational waves were first directly observed on September 14, 2015. | U.P. P.C.S. (Mains) 2017 |
| Expansion of Universe Evidence | Cited evidence includes the Detection of microwaves in space and Observation of redshift phenomenon in space. | |
| Concept | What to remember | Asked in UPPCS |
|---|---|---|
| Propellants | Consist of Fuel (combustion) and Oxidiser (provides oxygen for combustion). Hydroxyl Terminated Polybutadine (HTBP) is a solid propellant used in core motor of first stage and boosters. | UPPCS (Pre) 2006 |
| Space Shuttle Fuel | Shuttles are fueled with a mixture of liquid hydrogen (fuel) and liquid oxygen (oxidizer). | UPPCS (Pre) 2006 |
| Cryogenic Engine | Used in space shuttles, typically the third stage of GSLV Mk III. India successfully tested a full-fledged cryogenic stage in 2006. |
| UPPCS (Mains) 2004 |
| Electric Rocket Engine Principle | The thrust is caused by the ejection of material (ionized gas) backward, based on the principle of conservation of momentum. | UPPCS (Mains) 2014, U.P. R.O./A.R.O. (Mains) 2021, U.P. R.O./A.R.O. (Pre) 2023 |
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| Spacecraft Fuel (Discovery) | Space shuttles are fuelled with a mixture of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. | UPPCS (Pre) 2006 |
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| Rover/Probe Match | Curiosity Rover (Mars probe, USA); Messenger (Mercury probe, NASA); | UPPCS(Pre) 2013, U.P.U.D.A./L.D.A. (Pre) 2013 |
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| VERITAS and DAVINCI+ Missions | NASA's first missions to Venus since the 1990s, studying its surface and atmosphere. | U.P. R.O./A.R.O. (Pre) 2021 |
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| Chandrayaan/Mangalyaan Missions | Mangalyaan is also called the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM). It was launched in November 2013. MOM made India the first nation in the world to reach Martian orbit on its maiden attempt. | U.P. R.O./A.R.O. (Pre) 2023 |
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| Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) | MOM made ISRO the fourth space agency to achieve Mars' orbit (after Roscosmos, NASA, and ESA). |
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| PraVaHa Software | Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software developed by ISRO's VSSC (Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre) for aerodynamic design and analysis of launch vehicles. | UPPCS (Pre) 2024 |
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| ISRO Headquarters | Located in Bengaluru. | U.P. U.D.A./L.D.A. (Pre) 2010 |
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| Thumba Rocket Launching Station | Situated in Kerala (Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launch Station - TERLS). | UPPCS (Mains) 2004 |
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| Sriharikota Location | A barrier island in Andhra Pradesh. It divides the Pulicat Lake from the Bay of Bengal. It is a Satellite launching station. | UPPCS (Mains) 2003, U.P. R.O./A.R.O. (Mains) 2016 |
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| Space Applications Centre (SAC) | Located in Ahmedabad. | U.P.U.D.A./L.D.A (Spl.) (Mains) 2010, UPPCS(Pre) 1998 |
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| ISRO Satellite Centre (URSC) | Renamed U R Rao Satellite Centre in 2018, originally established in 1972 in Bengaluru, Karnataka. | U.P.U.D.A./L.D.A (Spl.) (Mains) 2010, UPPCS(Pre) 1998 |
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| National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) | Located at Hyderabad. | U.P.U.D.A./L.D.A (Spl.) (Mains) 2010 |
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| UPPCS (Mains) 2004 |
| GPS Full Form | Global Positioning System. GPS technology provides geo-location and time information, essential for mobile phone operations, banking systems, and controlling power grids. | UPPCS (Mains) 2015 |
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| BHUVAN | Bhuvan is an Indian web-based portal developed by ISRO, offering features like data visualization and free download of satellite data. | UPPCS (Mains) 2011 |
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| Black Hole Principle |
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| The principle of the 'Black Hole' was enunciated by S. Chandrashekhar. Black Holes absorb all radiation that falls on them due to their high gravity. |
| U.P.P.C.S (Pre) 2011 |
| Highly Dense Stars | Called Neutron stars. |
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| Pulsars | Rotating neutron stars are observed to have pulses of radiation at regular intervals. |
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| Saturn's Atmosphere | Contains large quantities of Methane (CH4). Saturn is the planet with the least density in our solar system. | U.P. P.C.S. (Pre) 2022 |
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| Kepler Telescope | Launched by NASA to find Earth-like planets orbiting other stars (exoplanets). | UPPCS (Mains) 2008 |
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| Units of Astronomical Distance | A light-year is a unit of astronomical distance. Parsec is also a unit of distance used for astronomically large distances. 1 Parsec is 3.262 light-years. | UPPCS (Pre) 1997 |
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| UPPCS (Pre) 1993 |
| PSLV Capabilities | Used to launch Earth monitoring satellites to Polar orbits (do not appear fixed in the sky). |
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| GSLV Mk III (LVM3) | Three-stage launch vehicle: first stage (solid propellant), second stage (liquid propellant), third stage (cryogenic stage). |
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| Jet Engine vs Rocket | Jet engines suck air for combustion; rockets carry their own oxidizer. Rockets work in space (vacuum), jet engines do not. | UPPCS (Mains) 2014 |
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| Electric Rocket Engine | Causes forward thrust based on the principle of conservation of momentum. | U.P. R.O./A.R.O. (Mains) 2021, U.P. R.O./A.R.O. (Pre) 2023 |
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