MANILA – Matagumpay na naipalipad sa kalawakan ng Department of Science and Technology (DOST) ang ikaapat na satellite at ikalawang nanosatellite na gawang Pinoy.
Nitong ala-1:36 ng umaga ng Linggo, February 21, inilunsad papuntang International Space Station (ISS) ang “Maya-2 CubeSat” na dinevelop ng tatlong Pinoy student engineers.
“To do something for the first time is great, but to be able to do it again and innovate is greater. We take pride in the launch of Maya-2, the successor to Maya-1 and the Philippines’ latest milestone in creating value in space for and from Filipinos and for the world,” ani Philippine Space Agency director general Joel Joseph Marciano Jr.
Kabilang sa mga bumuo kay Maya-2 ay sina Engr. Izrael Zenar Bautista (University of the Philippines), Engr. Mark Angelo Purio (Batangas State University), at Engr. Marloun Sejera (Mapua Institute of Technology).
Pare-pareho silang mga estudyante ngayon ng doctoral degree in Space Systems Engineering and Space Engineering sa Kyushu Institute of Technology (KyuTech) sa Japan.
Kasamang lumipad ng Maya-2 ang GuaraniSat-1 CubeSat ng Paraguay, at Tsuru CubeSat na nasa ilalim ng BIRDS 4 Satellite Project ng KyuTech. Lahat sila ay lulan ng Northrop Grumman CRS-15 mission.
Ayon kay DOST Sec. Fortunato dela Pena, patuloy na pinalalakas ng bansa ang iba pang space development programs dahil sa laki ng benepisyo nito sa mga Pilipino.
“Since DOST started the Philippine Space Technology Development Program in 2014, we have already sent orbiting into space two microsatellites, Diwata-1 and Diwata-2, and two nanosatellites Maya-1 and Maya-2,” ani Dela Pena.
May bigat na 1.3-kilogram ang Maya-2 CubeSat. Binubuo ito ng camera para makakuha ng mga larawan at video ng bansa mula sa orbit ng Earth; at iba pang control units at chips para mag-operate.
Noong March 2016 nang pakawalan sa kalawakan ang kauna-unahang microsatellite ng bansa na si Diwata-1. Matapos ang dalawang taon, October 2018, pinalipad naman si Diwata-2.
Samantalang June 2018 nang unang lumipad ang cube satellite na si Maya-1.
Ang DOST Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) at UP Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineering (UP IEEE) ang implementors ng naturang satellite development projects. Katuwang nila ang Hokkaido University at Tohoku University sa Japan.
Paliwanag ni Dela Pena, bahagi ng “Stamina4Space” Program ng kagawaran ang inisyatibo, na pinopondohan ng Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD).
Ang Stamina4Space (Space Technology and Applications Mastery, Innovation and Advancement) Program ay isang space research and development program na layuning palakasin ang expertise at local scientific-industrial base ng space technology sa Pilipinas.
Paliwanag ni Prof. Paul Jayson Co, project leader ng Stamina4Space Space Science and Technology Proliferation through University Partnerships (STeP-UP), makakatulong din si Maya-2 para makakuha ng datos mula “ground sensors.”
Magagamit daw ang mga malilikom na impormasyon para sa analysis ng panahon at infectious diseases.
Ngayong taon nakatakda na rin umanong paliparan sa kalawakan ang dalawa pang cube satellites na sina Maya-3 at Maya-4.
Kasalukuyan namang dine-develop ang micro satellites na sina Diwata-3 at Diwata-4; at iba pang nanosatellites.
“These projects are seen to further intensify the efforts of the country to harness the power of satellite technology for other purposes like those for agriculture, forest cover and natural resources inventory, weather forecasting, and disaster damage assessment and monitoring, among others,” nakasaad sa DOST press release.
Taong 2019 nang pirmahan ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte ang Republic Act No. 11363 na nagtatag sa Philippine Space Agency.
