Phl-made Maya-3, Maya-4 cube sats launched from Spacex to ISS
THE first Philippine universitybuilt Maya-3 and Maya-4 cube satellites (cube sats) were finally launched to the International Space Station (ISS) a few minutes after their scheduled 3:14 p.m. launch (PST) on August 29 aboard a Spacex Falcon 9 rocket’s Dragon C208 as part of Spacex Commercial Resupply Service Mission-23 (SPX-23).
The scheduled launching on August 28 was moved because of bad weather.
The launching was beamed live by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on its web site.
The docking of the Spacex CRS23 Cargo Dragon Craft to the ISS is scheduled on August 30 at 11 a.m. (EDT)
Once released from the ISS, Maya-3 and Maya-4 will move along an orbit similar to the space station’s at an altitude of approximately 400 kilometers.
Each weighing about 1.15 kilograms with 10-cubic centimeters, the cube sats carry components that are designed to demonstrate nanosatellite-based remote data collection systems and optical imaging.
The first Philippine cube sats built in a university, at the University of the Philippines Diliman, Maya-3 and Maya-4 are fashioned after the bus heritage of Maya-1 except for some enhancements. Maya-1 and Maya-2 were built by Filipino engineering scholars at the Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech) in Japan.
The new cube sats are mostly identical with a difference only in a mission, with Maya-4 mounted with near-infrared camera.
The two cube sats were built under the Space Science and Technology Proliferation through University Partnerships (STEP-UP) project of the Space Technology and Applications Mastery, Innovation and Advancement (Stamina4space) Program.
It is funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and is implemented by UPD and the DOST’S Advanced Science and Technology Institute (DOST-ASTI), the Stamina4space said in a news release.
The development of the cube sats is part of the course requirements of the Master of Science, or Master of Engineering of the Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute of UPD under the nanosatellite engineering track.
It was also implemented in collaboration with the Kyutech in Japan. It has scholarship support from the DOST’S Science Education Institute.
The Maya-3 and Maya-4 cube sats provide local opportunities to learn and acquire space technology knowhow, and hands-on experience in satellite development, which aims to contribute to building human resources for furthering the country’s space initiatives and activities.
Its mission and payloads were conceptualized and developed to test and demonstrate technologies that can later on be used to provide data that may be used in a number of applications across various sectors, such as agriculture, environment and natural resources, and disaster risk reduction and management, among others.
Maya-3 and Maya-4 can also be used to demonstrate technologies, such as data collection systems that work with ground-based sensors and radios that serve the amateur radio community and emergency response teams.
“The success of Maya-3 and Maya-4 will prove that cube sats can be successfully built locally [in the Philippines],” said STEP-UP Project Leader, Prof. Paul Jason Co. “The knowledge and experience gained from this endeavor can and will be shared to any other institutions through collaboration and cooperation.”
The first batch of STEP-UP scholars are composed of eight students who received scholarship support from DOST-SEI. They are Gladys Bajaro, Derick Canceran, Bryan Custodio, Lorilyn Daquioag, Marielle Magbanua-gregorio, Christy Raterta, Judiel Reyes, and Renzo Wee.
Prior to the launch, the cube sats were tested thoroughly to ensure that they can survive the launch and harsh space conditions. The team performed space environment tests of Maya-3 and Maya-4 and analyzed the results.
The results of various tests were then sent to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency for evaluation. After satisfying the set acceptance requirements, the Cubesats were turned over to JA X A for their launch to the ISS.
DOST Secretary Fortunato de la Peña said this latest development is a “crowning moment” for these initiatives.
“As a Filipino, I feel proud and hopeful that we have already developed our cube satellites locally. As a science and technology administrator, I think this is a crowning moment for the initiatives that we have undertaken,” de la Peña said.
He said it is a return on investment of sorts for whatever resources the government has poured in its Philippine space technology development program, “and a proof that our Filipino scientists, engineers, and researchers can be depended upon given a clear vision and target that we want to achieve,” he said,
“I commend the team who worked to accomplish this particular goal. We will aim higher of course. I feel fortunate about having our first batch of STEP-UP Scholars, who in spite of diversity of backgrounds in science and engineering, were able to accomplish their tasks within the given time frame,” de la Peña added.
According to Philippine Space Agency (Philsa) Director General Dr. Joel Joseph Marciano Jr., “When we sent Filipino scholars to Kyutech to work on Maya-1 in 2016 and Maya-2 in 2018, we committed to the idea of being able to build and innovate future Maya cube sats in our own laboratories. With Maya-3 and Maya-4 being lifted up to the ISS today [August 29], we achieve that proximate objective,” he said.
“This accomplishment spurs us on toward our larger goal of growing local space capabilities and cascading them to industry and society. I thank and congratulate the scholars, their mentors, and everyone in the team for their hard work, and look forward to more Mayas and breakthroughs to come,” Marciano added.
The UP said it was pleased to be home to these cube sats.
“Certainly there is much pride among the entire UP community in having our first ever university-built cube satellites. Considering the more obvious uses of these satellites such as in disaster mitigation and regional monitoring, the potential of these high-technology devices is limitless. We join the Stamina4space Program and STEP-UP Project in their success,” said Dr. Gonzalo Campoamor II, UPD Vice Chancellor for Research and Development.