PHL-Microsat
Program logo
Program overview
CountryPhilippines / Japan
OrganizationDepartment of Science and Technology
University of the Philippines
Hokkaido University
Tohoku University
PurposeMicrosatellite development and operation
StatusCompleted
Program history
Duration2014–2018
Successes3

The Philippine Scientific Earth Observation Microsatellite (PHL-Microsat) was a satellite program carried by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) of the Philippines in cooperation with the Tohoku and Hokkaido Universities of Japan.

Background

Inside the PEDRO Center.

Hokkaido University and Tohoku University of Japan initiated a project to send 50 microsatellites into space by 2050. The project will photograph aftermaths of natural disasters, partnering with governments, universities and other organizations based in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Two satellites are commissioned for the Philippine government.[1][2]

Diwata-1 is the first satellite of the venture and is also a part of the Department of Science and Technology's Philippine Scientific Earth Observation Micro-Satellite (PHL-Microsat) Program[3] which was initiated in December 2014 by the government agency.[4] The satellite is an updated version of the Raijin-2, which was developed by the two Japanese universities.[5] The satellite was deployed from the International Space Station on April 27, 2016.[6] Diwata-1 was replaced by Diwata-2 sometime in 2018.

The Philippine Department of Science and Technology (DOST) announced on June 29, 2017 that two CubeSats or nanosatellites will be launch in 2018.[7] One of these satellites was Maya-1, a nanosatellite developed under the Kyushu Institute of Technology-led Birds-2 project, was launched to space. The equipment is the first nanosatellite of the Philippines and is also placed under the PHL-Microsat program. It is to be deployed from the ISS sometime in August 2018,[8] On August 10, Maya-1 was deployed from the ISS along with satellites from Bhutan and Malaysia.

The PHL-Microsat program was officially succeeded by the STAMINA4Space Program in August 2018. The last satellite launched under the PHL-Microsat program, Maya-1 was decommissioned in November 2020.[9][10]

Phases

The project is divided into five sub-projects or phases.[11]

Project No. Objective
1 Development of Diwata-1 and Diwata-2 microsatellites
2 Development of a ground receiving station
3 Data processing, archiving and distribution subsystem development
4 Calibration and validation of remote sensing instruments
5 Remote sensing data product development

Mission summary

Designation Launch Deployment Summary
Date Site Vehicle Date Site Vehicle
Diwata-1 March 23, 2016 Cape Canaveral SLC-41 Atlas V 401 April 27, 2016 ISS Kibo module First microsatellite of the Philippines
Diwata-2 October 29, 2018 Tanegashima Space Center LA-Y H-IIA — Replacement of Diwata-1
Maya-1 June 29, 2018 Cape Canaveral SLC-40 Falcon 9 Full Thrust August 10, 2018 ISS Kibo module First nanosatellite of the Philippines.

External links

References

  1. ^ "Asian Universities + Asian Nations Go Small... Monitor Natural Disasters w/Network Of Microsatellites". Satnews Daily. January 13, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  2. ^ Usman, Edd (January 15, 2016). "DOST says PHL joining Asian 50-microsatellite alliance of 9 countries". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on February 20, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  3. ^ Ranada, Pia (March 10, 2015). "Introducing Diwata, the first Philippine-made satellite". Rappler. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  4. ^ Sakamoto, Yuji; Gonzalez, Ariston; Espiritu, Juan Paolo; Labrador, John Leur; Oliveros, Julian; Kuwahara, Toshinori; Yoshida, Kazuya (May 25, 2015). "Development of the Satellite Bus System for PHL-MICROSAT". Japan Geoscience Union. Chiba. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  5. ^ Morimoto, Miki (March 6, 2015). "Japanese, Filipino researchers to jointly develop satellites to check typhoon damage". Asahi Shimbun. Archived from the original on March 10, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  6. ^ Suarez, KD (April 27, 2016). "Diwata-1, the first Philippine microsatellite, deployed to space". Rappler. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  7. ^ Usman, Edd (June 30, 2017). "After micro-satellite, DOST set to launch 'cube satellites' in 2018". Newsbytes. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  8. ^ "Maya-1: Cube satellite latest Pinoy venture into space". Philippine Daily Inquirer. July 1, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  9. ^ "PHL-Microsat: Timeline of Events". STAMINA4Space. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  10. ^ "Official statement on the "PHL-Microsat Program" being renamed as the "STAMINA4Space Program"". STAMINA4Space. February 14, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  11. ^ Keanne, Phillip (July 7, 2018). "The Philippine microsat program & satellite control centre". Space Tech Asia. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
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