Sri Lanka successfully launches its first satellite 'Ravana-1' into orbit

Sri Lanka's first satellite 'Ravana-1', designed and developed by two local engineers, was successfully launched into orbit this week from the International Space Station (ISS) along with two other BIRDS 3 satellites from Japan and Nepal.

Raavana 1, the cube satellite measuring 11.3 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm, and weighing around 1.05 kg, was launched into orbit at 3:45 pm (Sri Lanka time) on Monday, the Colombo Page reported.

The satellite was designed and developed by two Sri Lankan engineers - Tharindu Dayaratne and Dulani Chamika - studying space engineering at Japan's Kyushu Institute of Technology.

Raavana-1 was deployed to the 400-km of orbit at an inclination of 51.6 degrees using the JAXA (Japanese Aerospace and Exploration Agency) owned Kibo experiment module, the paper said.

The satellite was officially handed over to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on February 18 and was sent to the ISS on April 17, through the assistance of Cygnus-1 spacecraft from the US.

Raavana-1 is expected to fulfil five missions including the capturing of pictures of Sri Lanka and surrounding regions, active attitude stabilization which ensures that satellite's attitude is stable under the influence of external talks. It will have a minimum lifespan of one and a half years but was expected to be active for up to five years.