First ever Sri Lankan nano satellite set to launch into orbit

The first ever nano Sri Lankan satellite, RAAVANA-1 will be launched into an orbit 400 km away from earth on June 17th, Non-Cabinet Minister of Science, Technology & Research Sujeewa Senasinghe has said.

He stated this during a press conference held at the ministry yesterday (03).

Commenting further at the press conference, the Non-Cabinet Minister said the government has offered Rs 21.5 million for this project, a long-term project launched by the Arthur C. Clerk Institute for Modern Technologies (ACCIMT) for the development of space technology in Sri Lanka.

He added the Ministry of Science, Technology & Research will launch “Shilpa Sena” Exhibition in Colombo on July 18th to promote science and technology.

RAAVANA-1 is a research satellite built by two Sri Lankan engineers named Tharindu Dayaratne and Dulani Chamika, from the University of Peradeniya and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies.

The satellite was designed and built at the Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan and is 1,000 cubic cm in size and weighs 1.1 kg.

RAAVANA-1 was officially handed over to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on February 18th.

The satellite is expected to fulfil five missions including the capturing of pictures of Sri Lanka and its surrounding regions.

It was successfully launched into space at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia on April 18th. The satellite was bordered to the Antares rocket carrying Cygnus cargo spacecraft and reached the International Space Station (ISS) the following day.