Raavana-1 was Sri Lanka’s first satellite, developed by local engineers Tharindu Dayaratne and Dulani Chamika Vithanage from the University of Peradeniya and the Asian Institute of Technology. The CubeSat measured 11.3 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm and weighed approximately 1.05 kg. It was launched into space on April 17, 2019, aboard the Cygnus NG-11 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Subsequently, on June 17, 2019, Raavana-1 was deployed into orbit from the ISS.
The satellite’s mission included capturing images of Sri Lanka and neighboring regions, measuring the Earth’s magnetic field, and testing technologies such as magnetic torquers for attitude stabilization. It was part of the BIRDS-3 satellite project, which also included satellites from Nepal and Japan.
Raavana-1 operated in orbit at an altitude of approximately 400 kilometers and had an expected operational lifespan of about one and a half years. It re-entered Earth’s atmosphere and decayed on October 3, 2021.
