Colombo, Sept. 17: Sri Lanka’s third nanosatellite, BIRDS-X DRAGONFLY, developed with technical contributions from Sri Lankan engineers, is set to be launched into orbit on September 19 at 2:15 p.m. Sri Lanka time.
The satellite was transported to the International Space Station (ISS) on August 24 aboard NASA’s SPX33 rocket mission and will be released into orbit from the ISS.
This launch represents a significant milestone for Sri Lanka’s space program, coming after the successful launches of Ravana-1 in 2019 and KITSUNE in 2022. Both projects were part of international cooperation efforts aimed at advancing the nation’s space technology capabilities.
A key highlight of the BIRDS-X DRAGONFLY project is that no capital cost was incurred by Sri Lanka. The initiative was led by Engineer Dr. Sanath Panawanne, former Director General of the Arthur C. Clarke Institute and founder of the Sri Lankan Space Technology Development Program, with support from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Digital Radio Communications Agency (ARDC), and Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan.
The Sri Lankan engineering team included Engineer Kamani Ediriweera, Engineer Kavindra Jayawardena, Engineer Tharindu Dayarathna, Engineer Kaveendra Sampath, Engineer Uditha Gayan, and Research Scientist Thilina Wijebandara.
The nanosatellite will undertake three main research missions:
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Testing a low-cost communication subsystem designed by Engineer Tharindu Dayarathna
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Conducting an additional communication research mission
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Evaluating the BUS System, which serves as the satellite’s core structure for basic subsystems, under space conditions
With this launch, Sri Lanka takes another step forward in low-cost satellite technology and space research innovation.