The first ever satellite Ravana 1, designed and developed by two Sri Lankan research engineers will be released into orbit at 3.45 pm today, June 17th.
Raavana-1 which is currently stationed at the international space station will be deployed to the 400km orbit today.
RAAVANA-1 a miniature satellite and Sri Lanka's first research satellite built by two Sri Lankan youth Tharindu Dayaratne and Dulani Chamika. 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 and Dulani Chamika is a Mechatronics engineer from the same institute.
The satellite has been built with Japanese assistance, said the Director General of the Arthur C. Clerk Center Sanath Panawennage. The satellite which was designed and built at the Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan is 1000 cubic cm in size and weighs 1.1 kg.
Panawennage said the Sri Lankan engineers are ready to manufacture bigger and more complex satellites in the future.
Ravana 1 was launched to the ISS in the 400km orbit by the Cygnus spacecraft of NASA on April 18 and it reached the international space station on 19th.
Life span 1 ½ years
Ravana 1 is 11.3 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm and weighs 1.05 kg. The life span of the Ravana 1 satellite is believed to be around 1 ½ years.
According to information this satellite was launched based on five goals.
Among them is to photograph Sri Lanka and surrounding areas.
Who built it
Tharindu and Chamika
Tharindu Dayaratne is a past pupil of the Pinnawala National School and he had obtained his engineering degree from the Peradeniya University.
Dulani Chamika is a past pupil of Kottawa Dharmapala Maha Vidyalaya.
(Mirror)