The Raavana-1 research satellite was launched into orbit, 400km away from Earth, yesterday evening.
The satellite, which was launched into space in April, was stationed at NASA’s International Space Station (ISS). The public was facilitated to witness the launching of the satellite by logging in to the ACCIMI website.
Ravana-1, a cube-sized nano-satellite, signified Sri Lanka’s entry to the field of space research. It is Sri Lanka’s first research satellite built by two Sri Lankan youths, Tharindu Dayaratne and Dulani Chamika, marking Sri Lanka’s entry into the space age.
Tharindu Dayaratne is an Electrical and Electronics engineer of the University of Peradeniya and a research engineer at the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies, while Dulani Chamika is a Mechatronics engineer from the same institute. The satellite is expected to fulfill five missions, including the capturing of pictures of Sri Lanka and its surrounding regions. The Raavana-1 weighs around 1.05kg and it will have a minimum lifespan of one-and-a-half years.
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First ever nano satellite: Raavana-1 to launch into orbit today (10:40)
The first ever Sri Lankan satellite, RAAVANA-1 will be launched into an orbit 400 km away from earth on this evening. RAAVANA-1 is a cube satellite, belonging to the nanosatellite category.
The nanosatellite was designed and built at the Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan. RAAVANA-1 was officially handed over to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on February 18, and was sent to the International Space Station on April 17, with the assistance of the Cygnus-1 spacecraft of the United States.
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