Asia-Pacific

Sri Lanka to launch maiden satellite

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-12-23 20:54

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka plans to launch its maiden satellite soon and it will be named after internationally renowned physicist and visionary, late Sir Arthur C. Clarke who made Sri Lanka his home.

Director General of Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka(TRCSL) Priyantha Kariyapperuma said on Wednesday that Sri Lanka will soon establish the Sri Lanka Space Agency (SLSA) for the purpose and TRCSL has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a British company to launch its first geostationary satellite.

"After obtaining cabinet approval, the TRCSL in November signed a MoU to acquire National Satellite Capabilities with Surrey Satellite Company Limited, a commercial entity of the University of Surrey, UK," Kariyapperuma said.

Surrey Satellite has built more than 30 space satellites: some of them for Malaysia, South Korea and Nigeria.

Kariyapperuma said that there are around 150 Sri Lankans in the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and requests them to help make the Sri Lanka's Space Program a success.

He said that the cost of a geostationary satellite would range between 100 million to 150 million US dollars.

Kariyapperuma said that Sri Lanka's first satellite would be a commercial venture and the private sector is invited to invest.

Other space agencies, notable from the United States, Japan and India, would be approached for technical expertise and collaboration.

"We are looking to launch two communication satellites. One is a lower earth orbit satellite used mainly for images. The other project would be to launch a geostationary communication satellite. Both these projects will run simultaneously," Kariyapperuma said.

He said that the two satellites will be used not only for communication purposes but also for disaster management, agriculture planning, irrigation planning, town/urban planning and coastal conservation.