PHL's Diwata-1 microsatellite to be launched on Wednesday

The Philippines' first microsatellite, the DIWATA-1, is set to be launched on Wednesday, March 23, the University of the Philippines announced in a post on its website.

The 50-kilogram imaging microsatellite assembled by nine Filipino scientists (of which eight are UP graduates) in Tohoku University and Hokkaido University is set to be brought to the International Space Station (ISS) via Orbital ATK Commercial Resupply Services Flight 6 (OA-6) Cygnus spacecraft[1] from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, USA, between 11a.m. and 11:35 a.m. launch window, Philippine Standard Time.

Diwata-1 will be housed in the ISS by the KIBO Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), which will release the microsatellite into space through its Japan Small Satellite (JSS) deployer.

The event can be viewed through the NASA TV coverage starting at 10 a.m. and a viewing session for UP and officials of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will be organized at the Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute, UP Diliman connecting the Philippines with UP and DOST and Japan with Hokkaido University and Tohoku University through video conferencing.

The live coverage of the launch can be viewed at http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/ or https://www.youtube.com/user/NASAtelevision.

Once launched, the satellite is expected to traverse a Low-Earth Orbit—400 to 420 kilometers from the ground—taking images of the Philippines during its projected two daytime passes.

Diwata-1’s delivery to the ISS marks a new era of space technology development in the country. It is expected to aid the country’s efforts in building essential capabilities that enhance and promote disaster risk reduction and management, agricultural productivity, resource assessment, and climate change studies through space technology.

Diwata-1 is the first microsatellite to be developed under the PHL-Microsat Program – a three-year program that aims to enhance local capacity in space technology through the development of microsatellite systems.

The program, which started in 2014, is an initiative of the Philippine government, through DOST and implemented by several departments of UP Dilliman. — BAP, GMA News