May 21, Colombo: Sri Lanka will launch its own first satellite in the near future, an official told the media.

Director General of the Sri Lanka Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) Priyantha Kariyaperuma said a group of local engineers has already gone to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) based in Geneva for registration purposes. “The satellite would be named after science fiction guru, the late Sir Arthur C. Clarke,” he said.

He said the TRC is planning to launch a satellite network within the next two years, though no timeframe has been fixed for the project.