Sri Lankans can expect the nation’s first ever satellite to be launched into space this April, officials of the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Science Education reveal.

Raavana-1 is a research satellite designed and assembled at the Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan by two Sri Lankan youths from the Peradeniya University and Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies.

The satellite is expected to orbit 400 kilometres away from Earth and complete five missions, including capturing pictures of Sri Lanka and its surrounding regions.

Currently held by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Raavana-1 will be sent to the International Space Station (ISS) on 17 April through the support of the US spacecraft Cygnus 1.