SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 15 September 2025, Shift 1 · General Awareness · Question 13 of 100

We transcribed this text from the pictures on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; the answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 13 September 2026.

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What is the orbital regime of the NISAR (NASA–ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite?

(a)GEO
(b)HEO
(c)LEO
(d)SSO

Answer

Why

Correct — D. NISAR was launched on 30 July 2025 aboard GSLV-F16 from Sriharikota into a sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) of the dawn-to-dusk kind.

An SSO is a near-polar orbit that crosses each place at the same local solar time, so repeat radar images of a spot can be compared → option (d).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
GEO — GEO sits about 35,786 km above the equator and keeps pace with Earth's rotation. NISAR flies far lower, on a near-polar track that an equatorial GEO cannot give.
(b)
HEO — HEO, a highly elliptical orbit, swings thousands of kilometres out at its far point. NISAR holds a low altitude of about 747 km in a sun-synchronous orbit.
(c)
LEO — LEO is true but too broad. At about 747 km NISAR does fly in low Earth orbit, but the question asks for its regime, and the specific one is sun-synchronous.

Concept

Orbits are named by height and by behaviour. LEO covers low altitudes up to about 2,000 km, GEO sits about 35,786 km above the equator, and HEO is highly elliptical.

A sun-synchronous orbit is a low, near-polar orbit whose plane turns once a year with Earth's path around the Sun, so the satellite passes each place at the same local time. NISAR's dawn-to-dusk version rides the line between day and night.

NISAR's orbit, at about 747 km, is also a low Earth orbit, so LEO is not a false description. SSO names the regime more precisely, which is what the question asks for.

Key facts

NISAR was launched on 30 July 2025 aboard GSLV-F16 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
It flies in a sun-synchronous, dawn-to-dusk orbit at about 747 km.
NASA provided its L-band radar and ISRO its S-band radar.
It was the GSLV's first mission to a sun-synchronous polar orbit.

Study next

Orbit types: LEO, MEO, GEO, HEO and SSO, with an example satellite for eachSynthetic aperture radar: imaging through cloud and at nightISRO launch vehicles: PSLV, GSLV and LVM3

Common traps

Choosing LEO because the altitude is low. It is true but broader, and the question asks for the specific regime.
Assuming a GSLV launch means a geostationary orbit. NISAR was the GSLV's first mission to a sun-synchronous polar orbit.

The same orbit is asked at 13 Sep 2025, 12:30 PM, GA Q.24 (keyed Polar sun-sync), and the SSO idea itself at 15 Sep 2025, 4:00 PM, GA Q.12, which keys consistent local solar time as correct.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

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