Sri Lanka’s third Nano-satellite to be placed in orbit tomorrow

Colombo, Sept. 18 (Daily Mirror) - Sri Lanka’s third Nano-satellite will be placed in orbit tomorrow, marking another milestone in the country’s space technology development, the Ministry of Science and Technology said today.

Developed by a team of Sri Lankan engineers under the guidance of Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies in Moratuwa, functioning under the Ministry of Science and Technology, the nano-satellite named ‘BIRDS-X DRAGONFLY’ was carried to the International Space Station (ISS) on August 24 aboard NASA’s SPX33 cargo resupply mission. The satellite is scheduled to be released into orbit from the ISS today (19) at 2:15 p.m. Sri Lanka time. The event will be broadcast live at the Arthur C. Clarke Institute.

Sri Lanka previously launched its first nano-satellite, Raavana-1, in 2019, followed by KITSUNE in 2022 under an international collaborative project involving five countries. The launch of “BIRDS-X DRAGONFLY” is recognized as a significant achievement in advancing Sri Lanka’s space technology journey, particularly as it has been developed without any financial cost to the government, the ministry said.

The project was carried out in collaboration with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the Asian Research and Development Center (ARDC), alongside Japan’s Kyushu Institute of Technology, as part of an international space technology cooperation programme.

Former Director General of the Arthur C. Clarke Institute, Eng. (Dr.) Sanath Panawennage, former Deputy Director General (Technical Programmes) Eng. Kamani Ediriweera, and Director of Electronics Engineering, Eng. Kavindra Jayawardena, played a key role in securing international partnership for the project. The Sri Lankan research engineering team included Tarindu Dayaratne, Kavindu Sampe, Udhitha Gayaweera and Thilina Withanabandara, it added