Sri Lanka’s third nano-satellite, named BIRDS-X Dragonfly, is scheduled to be launched into orbit today (September 19) according to the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies.
The satellite, developed primarily by Sri Lankan engineers under the Ministry of Education and Technology, was delivered to the International Space Station (ISS) via SpaceX’s SPX33 mission launched by NASA on August 24.
The satellite will be deployed into orbit from the ISS at 2:15 p.m. Sri Lanka time, and the deployment event will be streamed live at the Arthur C. Clarke Institute.
Sri Lanka’s first satellite, Ravana-1, was launched in 2019, followed by KITSUNE in 2022, which was part of a multinational collaborative project. BIRDS-X Dragonfly marks the country’s latest advancement in space technology, achieved without any direct public expenditure.
The project was implemented with technical collaboration from Japan’s Kyushu Institute of Technology, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and the Asian Development and Research Centre (ARDC), with support from foreign experts and former directors of the Arthur C. Clarke Institute. (Newswire)