- Sri Lanka’s has successfully launched its first satellite Raavana-1 into space.It was launched from NASA’s Flight Facility on Virginia’s east shore.
- The satellite weighs around 1.05 kg and the lifespan of the satellite is around one and a half years.
- The 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.
- Raavana 1 was designed to accomplish missions which includes (a)camera mission for taking pictures of Sri Lanka and its neighbouring countries (b)Lora Demonstration Mission to validate the module to be used to data download next satellites and (c)Attitude Determination and Control Mission involves the team trying to reduce the angular velocity of the satellite using magnetic torquers.
