Immigration to the Philippines: The Philippine Department of Science and Technology confirmed on the 27th that the first microsatellite developed by the country has successfully arrived at the International Space Station.
Carlos David, an official from the Philippine Department of Science and Technology, revealed that the Diwata-1 low-earth orbit microsatellite, developed by the Philippines, arrived at the International Space Station on the evening of the 26th aboard the Cygnus cargo spacecraft from the U.S. company Orbital ATK. This 50-kilogram microsatellite is scheduled to be released into space by International Space Station astronauts on April 20, and will begin capturing images of the Philippines from space in early May.
According to reports, the Diwata-1 microsatellite is equipped with 4 cameras and will fly over the Philippines four times a day, capturing 3,600 images daily, which will then be transmitted back to a ground station located in Subic, in the northern part of the country.
Carlos David stated that the images captured by the Diwata-1 microsatellite will be utilized in areas such as weather forecasting, disaster risk management, crop growth monitoring, and territorial border surveillance, preventing Philippine scientists and officials from being "in the dark" regarding situations that may affect the country.
Carlos David also cited the 2013 super typhoon Haiyan that struck the central Philippines as an example, emphasizing that due to the lack of satellite imagery, authorities had difficulty determining the areas most severely affected, "taking more than two weeks at that time."
He further emphasized that this is the first Philippine-made satellite to enter space, which is a source of pride for the Filipino people.
Data shows that the Diwata-1 microsatellite was jointly developed by 7 students from the University of the Philippines and 2 technical personnel from the Philippine Department of Science and Technology. Carlos David revealed that the research team is currently developing the country's second microsatellite, Diwata-2, with plans to launch it into space in 2017.