First Pinoy satellite DIWATA-1 to launch on Wednesday

After months of anticipation, the Philippines' first microsatellite DIWATA-1 is all set for launch on Wednesday morning, March 23, at 10 a.m. (Philippine Time).

The 50kg imaging satellite will be part of the payload of private aerospace company Orbital ATK's Cygnus spacecraft, which will lift off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, on a supply mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

Diwata 1 will stay onboard the ISS until the end of April, when it will be launched into space at an altitude of 400 km above the Earth's surface.

Click here or here to see an overview of the launch, courtesy of NASA.

Once in orbit, Diwata will monitor weather patterns and crop health, among other tasks.

"DIWATA-1’s delivery to the ISS (takes us) one step further in the country’s long journey towards developing homegrown science and technology expertise and finally put the Philippines in the list of nations that have the capacity of venturing into space and beyond," the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said in a press release. — GMA News