Sri Lanka’s third nano-satellite, BIRDS-X DRAGONFLY, will be placed in orbit this afternoon, marking another major milestone in the country’s space technology journey, the Ministry of Science and Technology announced.
Developed by a team of Sri Lankan engineers under the guidance of the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies in Moratuwa, the satellite was carried to the International Space Station (ISS) on August 24 aboard NASA’s SPX33 cargo resupply mission. It is scheduled to be released into orbit from the ISS today (19) at 2:15 p.m. Sri Lanka time. The release 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 a five-country international collaboration. The launch of BIRDS-X DRAGONFLY is considered a landmark achievement as it has been developed at no financial cost to the government, the ministry noted.
The project was carried out in partnership with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Asian Research and Development Center (ARDC), and Japan’s Kyushu Institute of Technology under an international space cooperation programme.
Key contributions to securing the partnership came from 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.
The Sri Lankan research engineering team that developed the satellite includes Tarindu Dayaratne, Kavindu Sampe, Udhitha Gayaweera, and Thilina Withanabandara.
