Diwata-1

Diwata-1 (PHL-Microsat-1)

Diwata-1

Diwata-1
Mission type Earth Observation
Operator DOST
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer DOST
University of the Philippines
Hokkaido University
Tohoku University
BOL mass 50 kg (110 lb)
Dimensions 55 cm x 35 cm x 55 cm
Start of mission
Launch date March 2016
Rocket TBA
Contractor SpaceX
Deployed from ISS
Deployment date April 2016
Orbital parameters
Regime Low Earth[1]
Inclination 51.6°[2]
Mean motion 4
Velocity 7,000 m/s (16,000 mph)[1]
Instruments
High Precision Telescope (HPT)
Space-borne Multispectral Imager (SMI)
(with Liquid Crystal Tunable Filter (LCTF))
Wide Field Camera (WFC)
Middle Field Camera (MFC)
Philippine Scientific Earth Observation Microsatellite program
Diwata-2 →

Diwata-1[3] also known as PHL-Microsat-1 is a Philippine microsatellite to be launched in early 2016. It is the first Philippine microsatellite and the first one to be built and designed by Filipinos.[4][5]

Background

Hokkaido University and Tohoku University of Japan initiated a project to send 50 microsatellites into space by 2050 which will be used to photograph aftermaths of natural disasters partnering with governments, universities and other organizations based in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Two satellites are commissioned for the Philippine government.[6][7]

Diwata-1 is the first satellite of the venture and is also a part of the Department of Science and Technology's Philippine Scientific Earth Observation Micro-Satellite (PHL-Microsat) Program[8] which was initiated in December 2014 by the government agency.[2] The satellite is an updated version of the Raijin-2 which was developed by the two Japanese universities.[9]

There were two Philippine satellites before Diwata-1, Agila-1 and Agila-2 (later renamed ABS-3) but both were owned and operated by private firms.[5]

The government has been availing services from foreign countries for satellite imagery. Carlos Primo David, executive director of the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development called the whole PHL-Microsat program is a "small investment"[5] taking note that in 2013, following the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, locally known as Typhoon Yolanda, the government had to pay about ₱56 million for a satellite imagery of an area affected by the typhoon dubbed as the "Yolanda Corridor".[7][5] This led to the creation of the program.

Etymology

The satellite was named after a type of being from Philippine mythology, the diwata.[10]

Development

The turnover of the satellite to JAXA at the Tsukuba Space Center. January 13, 2016.

A team of nine Filipino engineers from the DOST-Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) and the University of the Philippines, dubbed the "Magnificent 9", were responsible for the production of the Diwata and collaborated with scientists and engineers from the two Japanese universities.[3][11] They were sent to Japan in October 2015.[12] Another microsatellite will be developed. Assembly and testing of Diwata was completed in December 2015.[13]

Diwata was handed over to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on January 13, 2016 at the Tsukuba Space Center in Tsukuba, Japan.[3][5][13] On January 18, 2016[14] JAXA sent the satellite to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States after conducting final tests on the satellite.[5]

Instruments

Diwata-1 in Japan

Diwata-1 has three scientific instruments namely the High Precision Telescope (HPT), Space-borne Multispectral Imager (SMI) with Liquid Crystal Tunable Filter (LCTF), and the Wide Field Camera (WFC), and one engineering instrument, the Middle Field Camera (MFC).[15]

The HTD with a Ground sample distance (GSD) of 3 metres (9.8 ft) at 400 kilometres (250 mi) will be used to monitor the extent of damages from natural disasters such as typhoons. It is also equipped with 4 CCDs for each red, blue, green, and near infrared region. Images captured from the HTD will be used for disaster management and resource allocation.[15]

The SMI with LCTF has a GSD of 80 metres (260 ft) at 400 kilometres (250 mi) will be used for monitoring vegetation changes and in estimating phytoplankton biomass in Philippine waters. The innstrument is equipped with 2 CCDs for both visible (420-700 nm) and near infrared (650-1050 nm) regions with a 13 nm interval.[15]

Cloud patterns and distribution as well as weather disturbances such as typhoons will be observed by Diwata-1 using the WFC which has a GSD of 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) and a panchromatic CCD with a field view of 1800 x 1340. The calibration of the attitude determination algorithm will be handled by the MFC. The instrument is equipped with a colored CCD and expected GSD of 185 metres (607 ft) and will also aid in locating images captured by the HPT and SMI.[15]

Use

Diwata-1 can be used for disaster management purposes such as in accessing damage from typhoons and rainstorms. It will also have applications in agriculture, forest cover monitoring and national security.[16] The satellite, which can take a daily average of 3,500 high resolution photos, will be also used to capture images of natural wonders of the country which the DOST plans to upload daily.[5]

Among its uses in agriculture is for monitoring the El Niño phenomenon. Farmers may use data from the satellite to plan on what crops to plant and on when to plant such crops. Farmers and local government officials may devise provisional contingency plans to manage the negative effects of El Niño especially on agriculture.[10]

Diwata-1 will aid PAGASA's weather forecasting capabilities and will compliment DOST's Project NOAH an endeavour on natural disaster risk reduction and management.[10]

Launch and mission

The Kibo module at the ISS

After receiving Diwata-1 from JAXA, NASA will handover the satellite to SpaceX which will be launched either from California or Florida to the International Space Station.[13] The launched is scheduled to be launched on March. Earlier, an orbital slot was secured from JAXA for the satellite.[17]

Diwata is set to be deployed from the International Space Station from the Kibo module.[3][8][16] The satellite will be inspected on board the station before it will be deployed into orbit in April for at least 18 months.[5][17] The deployment mechanism for the satellite will be the JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (J-SSOD).[14]

By early 2016, the Kibo module has deployed 106 small satellites. However the Diwata-1 deployment in April will mark the first attempt of the module to deploy a 50-kg class satellite.[18]

The Tohoku University Ground station (CRESST) will have primary control over the satellite with a command line on the UHF band.[2] A ground station based in the in the Philippines particularly in Subic, Zambales, the Philippine Earth Data Resources Observation (PEDRO) station will also be set up for the satellite's operations. PEDRO will receive and store data sent by Diwata.[5]

Impact

One of the major goals of the PHL-Microsat program, to which Diwata-1 is under, is to boost the progress on the creation of the Philippine Space Agency.[7] DOST secretart Mario Montejo, said that the Diwata-1 endeavour may pave way to the development of the local electonics and aerospace industries which would complement a satellite-building industry.[19]

The University of the Philippines Diliman campus has allocated an area for space research laboratory for the development of microsatellite technology which may be used by the Filipinos who were involved in the Diwata-1 project to teach and train local industry engineers. The facility will be funded by the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development of the DOST.[19]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Diwata-1.
  1. 1 2 Suarez, KD (13 January 2016). "One giant leap: PH microsatellite a step closer to launch". Rappler. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Sakamoto, Yuji; Gonzalez, Ariston; Espiritu, Juan Paolo; Labrador, John Leur; Oliveros, Julian; Kuwahara, Toshinori; Yoshida, Kazuya (25 May 2015). "Development of the Satellite Bus System for PHL-MICROSAT". Japan Geoscience Union (Chiba). Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Usman, Edd (13 January 2016). "PH makes history, hands over Diwata-1 to JAXA for space launch". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  4. ↑ "First Philippine microsatellite “DIWATA” set to launch". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. 18 January 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Yee, Jovic (12 January 2015). "1st PH-made satellite set to go into space". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  6. ↑ "Asian Universities + Asian Nations Go Small... Monitor Natural Disasters w/Network Of Microsatellites". Satnews Daily. 13 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 Usman, Edd (15 January 2016). "DOST says PHL joining Asian 50-microsatellite alliance of 9 countries". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  8. 1 2 Ranada, Pia (10 March 2015). "Introducing Diwata, the first Philippine-made satellite". Rappler. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  9. ↑ Morimoto, Miki (6 March 2015). "Japanese, Filipino researchers to jointly develop satellites to check typhoon damage". Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 "DOST: First Filipino-made satellite to help agriculture". EdgeDavao. Philippine News Agency. 19 January 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  11. ↑ Usman (31 January 2016). "Yes, Filipinos can!". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  12. ↑ Usman, Edd (27 December 2014). "DOST marks 2014 with 4 int’l awards". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  13. 1 2 3 Usman, Edd (2 January 2016). "DOST, 2 Japanese universities complete Philippine satellite for launching in space". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  14. 1 2 "フィリピン政府国産初となる50㎏級超小型衛星「DIWATA-1」の受領完了 ~2016年春、打上げ・初の放出へ。 「きぼう」の船外利用は多様化へ~" [Diwata-1, First Philippine-made 50kg microsatellite, to be launched in Spring of 2016. Kibo module to be used.] (in Japanese). Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Vergel, Kaye Kristine; Magallon, Benjamin Jonah; Takahashi, Yukihiro; Ishida, Tetsuro; Perez, Gay Jane; Tupas, Mark Edwin; Marciano, Joel (2 November 2015). "Science Missions and Payloads Specifications of Philippines’ First Earth-Observation Microsatellite: Diwata" (PDF). Japan Geoscience Union. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  16. 1 2 Gonzales, Grace (10 March 2015). "PHL working with Japan to launch first Filipino-made satellite in space". Ang Malaya Net. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  17. 1 2 Usman, Edd (12 January 2016). "PH microsatellite set to be launched in April". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  18. ↑ Usman, Edd (31 January 2016). "Deployment of Diwata-1 in space, a first for Japan’s Kibo". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  19. 1 2 Ronda, Rainier Allan (18 January 2016). "Diwata-1 may pave way for local satellite-building industry". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
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