- India’s southern neighbour Sri Lanka has sent its first satellite ‘Raavana-1’ into space on April 18, 2019.
- The satellite was launched into space from NASA’s Flight Facility on Virginia’s east shore.
- ‘Raavana 1’ weights around 1.05 kg and the lifespan of the satellite is around one and a half years.
- The ‘Raavana 1’ launch marks Sri Lanka’s entry into the global space age.
- The satellite was designed and built at the Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan by two Sri Lankan research engineers.
- Its camera mission is to capture images of Sri Lanka and its neighbouring countries.
- Nepal also launched its first satellite NepaliSat-1 into space from the US with same mission to gather detailed geographical information of the Himalayan nation, evoking unbridled excitement among the people and scientists.
- These satellites were launched under Japan’s BIRD project of the Japanese Kyushu Institute of Technology.
- The BIRDS project has been designed in association with the United Nations and aims at helping countries launch their first satellite.
