3 Filipino engineers behind Philippines' second cube satellite

The Maya-2 CubeSat, developed by three Filipino engineers, was officially launched at the International Space Station on Sunday afternoon, along with satellites from Japan and Paraguay, as part of the Joint Global Multi-Nation Birds Satellite Project (BIRDS-4).

Behind the successful launch is a team composed of three Filipinos, all of them pursuing doctorates in Space Systems Engineering and Space Engineering at the Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech) in Kitakyushu, Japan.

Izrael Zenar Bautista

Bautista is responsible for the monitoring of the team's activities from planning, design, execution, implementation, and operation of the satellite. His responsibilities also include the testing of the feasibility of the Perovskite solar cell mission in space.

He obtained his master's degree in Energy Engineering from the University of the Philippines Diliman where he also graduated with a bachelor's degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering.

Mark Angelo Cabrera Purio

Purio is responsible for the Camera Mission (CAM) of the BIRDS-4 satellite project, capturing images using the commercial-off-the-shelf camera which serves as the eye of the satellite from space. He also helped in the design and development of the standardized backplane board (BPB) which holds the boards together.

He obtained a master's degree in Electronics Engineering from the De La Salle University, another master's degree in Education from Adamson University, and his bachelor's degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering from the Batangas State University.

Marloun Pelayon Sejera

Sejera is responsible for ensuring reliable communications of the satellite with the ground stations for the continuous execution of satellite mission, on top of handling the APRS-DP mission which aims to provide amateur radio services to the community.

He obtained his master's degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering from the Mapua Institute of Technology where he also obtained his bachelor's degree in the same course.

The BIRDS-4 Satellite Project is a cross-border interdisciplinary CubeSat project hosted by Kyutech, in collaboration with three countries.

The Maya-2 CubeSat weighs 1.2 kilograms, is equipped with a camera for image and video capture, attitude determination, and control units for active attitude stabilization and control demonstrations. — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/DVM, GMA News