Question

Who was the first Indian to travel into space?
a. Gagan Narang
b. Rakesh Sharma
c. Sunitha Williams
d. Kalpana Chawla

Answer 1

Hint: The first Indian to travel into space was a pilot in the Indian Air Force and held the rank of Squadron Leader at the time of his space flight.

Complete step by step solution: The personalities mentioned in the question are mostly from a cosmonautic background. Let’s look at our options one by one:
a. Gagan Narang – Gagan Narang is a former Indian Shooter and he has nothing to do with cosmonautics. Hence, he cannot be the first Indian to travel into Space. So, it is an incorrect option.
b. Rakesh Sharma – Rakesh Sharma was an Indian Pilot who was a commissioned officer in the Indian Air Force. He was selected as the cosmonaut to travel into Space with two Russian counterparts in the year 1984. So, it is the correct option.
c. Sunitha Williams – Sunitha Williams was an Indian born US citizen to have travelled into space. But her space flights came very late, i.e. years after the first space flight was made by an Indian. So, it is an incorrect option.
d. Kalpana Chawla – Kalpana Chawla was an Indian born US astronaut who worked in NASA and had made multiple space flights, after 1984. However, she died in the Columbia Space Shuttle Crash of 2003. So, it is an incorrect option.

Note: The first Indian space developments were with the assistance of the Soviet Union, not USA. So, in order to eliminate the incorrect options, one could rule out Sunitha Williams and Kalpana Chawla as they worked in NASA.