Ravanna 1-

SRI LANKA'S FIRST SATELLITE IN SPACE

Hello friends, my name is Aloka and this is my naughty but nice dog Pippin. He goes with me everywhere and we have wonderful adventures together. Recently there was “out of the world” history being made from our little island. Can you guess what this event was? It was about the launch of the first ever satellite into space. Let's go find out all the spectacular details as they unfolded.

What is a Satellite?

A satellite is a small object that orbits, or revolves around, a larger object in space. Satellites can be either naturally formed or artificial, which means it was made by people. For example, all the planets in the solar system, except for Mercury and Venus have natural satellites. Our moon, is a natural satellite around Earth.

Artificial satellites, which are man-made are sent into space to gather information. The ways in which satellites are launched into space is by rockets. Thousands of artificial, or man-made, satellites orbit the Earth. Some take pictures of the planet which help meteorologists predict weather and track hurricanes. Some take pictures of other planets, the sun, black holes, dark matter or faraway galaxies. These pictures help scientists better understand the solar system and universe. Satellites come in many shapes and sizes. But most have at least two parts in common - an antenna and a power source. The antenna sends and receives information, often to and from Earth. The power source can be a solar panel or battery. Solar panels make power by turning sunlight into electricity.

How Do Satellites Orbit the Earth?

Most satellites are launched into space on rockets. A satellite orbits the Earth when its speed is balanced by the pull of Earth's gravity. Without this balance, the satellite would fly in a straight line, off into space or fall back to the Earth. Satellites orbit Earth at different heights, different speeds and along different paths. Sri Lankan scientists and engineers have made history by creating the first ever man-made satellite, aptly called Ravanna I. The satellite was built by engineers, Tharindu Dayaratne and Dulani Chamika at the Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan. It weighs 1.1 kilograms. It has been handed over to the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency and will be sent to the International Space Station from where it will be launched into space on April 17. What an amazing and historic moment for our little island!

Until next time have fun in the sun!