JUAN IN SPACE

The PHL-Microsat Program bagged the best paper award for their entry: Development of Deployable Antennas for Diwata-2 Microsatellite's Amateur Radio Payload during the COMNETSAT 2017 .  COMNETSAT is an IEEE sponsored International Conference on Communication, Networks and Satellite. The event is held annually and this year, it was held at Semarang, Indonesia. Image Courtesy of Ms. Salvatus Congratulations to the team!

Just a year after acquiring Agila-1 , the Philippines acquired its second satellite, Agila-2. However, compared with Agila-1, Agila-2 is designed for a Philippine company and is not acquired while already in orbit. Agila-2 is a telecommunications satellite built by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) for Mabuhay Satellite Corporation. It was launched to space from Xichang Satellite Launch Center via the Chang Zheng 3B rocket on August 19, 1997 (17:50 UTC) and was positioned at the 146°E longitude orbital slot. The mass varies from sources, but according to Gunter's Space, its launch mass is 3775 kg while its dry mass is 1800 kg (Wikipedia reports 2,820 kg launch mass). Agila-2 is claimed to be the most powerful telecommunications satellite in the entire Asia-Pacific region, and one of the most efficient in the industry. It carries 24 C-band, 24 Ku-band, and 6 extended C-band transponders, making it the satellite with the largest number of active transponders compared to any oth...

I am not sure how many of you is aware of this, but Diwata-1 is not the Philippines' first satellite. In 1996, Mabuhay Satellite Corporation under PLDT acquired Palapa B2-P, an Indonesian satellite that has been in space since March 20, 1987. From there, it was renamed to Agila-1 and became the Philippines' first satellite acquired while in orbit. Palapa B2-P was launched from Cape Canaveral aboard the Delta-3920 PAM-D rocket. It has a mass of 692 kg at the beginning of its life. It is a telecommunications satellite operating in the C-band - receiving from 5.925 GHz to 6.415 GHz and transmitting from 3.7 GHz to 4.2 GHz. Until the acquisition on 1996, it occupies the 113°E orbital slot. On August of the said year, it moved to its new orbital slot at 144°E. The Philippine's possession of the satellite was not long however, since it was deorbited 1998 - only more than a year after it was acquired. References: Gunter's Space Page: Palapa B1, B2, B2P, B2R, B4 ...

This blog will not be complete without mentioning the country's initial foray to space through the PHL-Microsat Program. The PHL-Microsat Program The PHL-Microsat Program is a R&D program supported by the Philippine's Department of Science and Technology (DOST). It started on 2015, with an aim to develop, launch and effectively utilize the country's first microsatellites, Diwata-1 and Diwata-2, and lay the foundation for a sustainable space science and technology ecosystem in the country. The program is composed of five component project with focus on: Project 1 - Development of the microsatellites Project 2 - Development and operations of the ground receiving station for Diwata-1 and Diwata-2 Project 3 - Data processing, archiving and distribution Project 4 - Calibration and validation of remote sensing instruments Project 5 - Development of remote sensing data products Diwata-1 Diwata-1 , the country's first microsatellite is a ...