Diwata-1 phones home: 'Maayos ang lahat'

Barely 12 hours since its launch into orbit, the Philippines' first satellite sent its first communications back to scientists as if to say that all is well, "Maayos ang lahat".

Although the Diwata-1 was launched at 7:45 p.m. last night, April 27, it was a tense night for the scientists involved as they waited for the satellite to establish contact.

Finally, early Thursday, engineers at Japan's Tohoku University confirmed having communicated with Diwata-1 as of 6:33 a.m. Philippine Time.

"We have confirmed good communication link with Diwata-1!!!" an enthusiastic Ariston Gonzales—one of the team of Filipinos who built the satellite—said on Facebook.

"Initial telemetry data shows good general health status and all initial commands sent are acknowledged by Diwata-1," he added.

The Diwata-1 is equipped with a high precision telescope, a multispectral imager, and a wide field camera. These instruments will enable scientists on the ground to get an accurate idea of weather patterns, crop health, and disaster damage, among other uses.

Scientists now await the first of these photos in the coming days, when Diwata-1 makes its way over the Philippines.

"In the next few days, we will try to check all systems in detail and hopefully get the first image downloaded to be shared to the world! Stay tuned!" enthused Gonzales. — GMA News