Question: Which country launched Ravana- 1 satellite?
(a) Sri Lanka
(b) Malaysia
(c) Indonesia
(d) Japan
Answer (a)
Related facts:
- Sri Lanka’s first satellite Ravana-1 was successfully launched into orbit from the International Space Station (ISS) along with two other BIRDS 3 satellites from Japan and Nepal.
- The satellite was designed and developed by two Sri Lankan engineers – Tharindu Dayaratne and Dulani Chamika.
- Ravana-1 is expected to fulfill five missions including the capturing of pictures of Sri Lanka and surrounding regions, active attitude stabilization which ensures that satellite’s attitude is stable under the influence of external talks.
- The satellite was officially handed over to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on 18th February, 2019 and was sent to the ISS on 17th April, through the assistance of Cygnus-1 spacecraft from the US.
- Ravana 1, the cube satellite measuring 11.3 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm, and weighing around 1.05 kg, was launched into orbit at 3:45 pm (Sri Lanka time) on 24th June, 2019, the Colombo Page reported.
- Ravana-1 was deployed to the 400-km of orbit at an inclination of 51.6 degrees using the JAXA (Japanese Aerospace and Exploration Agency) owned Kibo experiment module.
- It will have a minimum lifespan of one and a half years but was expected to be active for up to five years.