The Philippines’ biggest Earth Observation satellite to date will be launched in space in 2023, and it is expected to provide “a wide range of socio-economic benefits.”
The development of a bigger Earth Observation satellite called the Multispectral Unit for Land Assessment (Mula) is underway, a news release from the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) said.
Sustaining the gains made in the microsatellites Diwata-1 and Diwata-2, the commercial-grade satellite Mula will be “the first of the next generation of satellites that will further strengthen the country’s space technology research, development, and innovation activities.”
Weighing 130 kilograms, Mula can capture operational-quality images of approximately 100,000 square kilometers of land area daily.
Mula will carry a TrueColour camera capable of capturing 5m resolution images with a wide swath width of 120 kilometers.
Its nine spectral bands can be used for different environmental applications such as disaster management, land use and land cover change mapping, crop monitoring, and forestry management.
Newest satellite initiative
Last February, Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña said in a report that the newest satellite initiative was being developed by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-funded Advanced Satellite and Know-how Transfer for the Philippines (ASP) Project.
This is part of the department’s priority agenda under the “emerging technologies sector of providing space technology applications to public services.”
The University of the Philippines Diliman and the DOST-Advanced Science and Technology Institute (DOST-ASTI) are implementing the project in coordination with PhilSA, which will oversee its completion, launching in 2023 and management and operation thereafter.
Mula is being designed and manufactured together with the British company Surrey Space Technology Ltd. (SSTL), a major provider of small satellite development and know-how-transfer.
Socio-economic benefits
“We are all very excited to start the development of Mula,” PhilSA Deputy Director-General Dr. Gay Jane Perez said.
“Equipped with the acquired technical know-how and capabilities through our experiences in building Diwata and Maya satellites, we are now moving forward with our first operational and industrial quality satellite aimed towards providing a wide range of socio-economic benefits for the country,” she said.
Perez, also the ASP Project Leader, added, “With its capability to capture higher resolution images, we will be able to better monitor terrestrial ecosystems, as well as our land and marine resources to ensure both agricultural productivity and environmental integrity. In addition, we will also be able to assess environmental conditions to be more proactive in disaster management and mitigation.”
She also explained that while Mula will be the first of the next generation of satellites aimed at further strengthening the country’s space technology research, development, and innovation activities, the initiatives won’t start from scratch.
Rather they are a continuation of unwavering efforts to capacitate the country in developing capabilities towards building a space ecosystem and adding value in space.
“This is of course done not only to keep up with the global competitiveness but most importantly, it is so we can minimize our reliance on foreign technologies, so we can have our own scientists and engineers whose expertise in space science and technologies can be targeted and tailored specifically to the needs of our land and our people,” she said.
New benchmark
In a statement, SSTL Managing Director Phil Brownnett said that incorporating TrueColour into Mula’s 130-kg-mass category “will be a new benchmark for Earth Observation capabilities at this mass and price point.”
TrueColour was derived from SSTL’s Disaster Monitoring Constellation satellite.
The satellite will also come equipped with two other payloads: Automatic Identification System and Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, which can be utilized for ship and aircraft detection and tracking.
The preliminary mission objectives of the satellite were determined based on a needs assessment conducted by the ASP Project of the Space Technology Applications Mastery, Innovation and Advancement (Stamina4Space) Program with various stakeholders in the Philippines during the first quarter of 2020.
Since the first phase of the Know-How Training and Transfer for TrueColour kicked off in December 2020, over 30 Filipino engineers have remotely attended a small satellite system design course conducted by SSTL.
Nine engineers are currently undergoing full immersion for the satellite design and manufacture process in the United Kingdom, having just passed the Qualification Status Review—an important design phase milestone. Simultaneously, ASP’s local team has been continuing its mission definition and know-how transfer efforts.
Filipino ‘astronaut’
Mula Project Manager Engr. John Leur Labrador said the planned multispectral imager calibrated for land assessment can be likened to having our own “astronaut” in space.
“We can think of this spacecraft as a Filipino astronaut tasked to take images of our natural resources while monitoring aircraft and ship activity in our country at the same time,” he said.
“We aim to significantly increase the land area captured by this satellite compared to our previous ones, effectively increasing the information gathered from the produced images.”
Having worked on the country’s’ small satellite projects since 2015, Labrador felt privileged for the opportunity. “It’s inspiring to think how far we’ve come, but at the same time, moving forward is an ever-present challenge,” he shared.
“However, I’m confident that we are headed in the right direction, spearheaded by this project and the multitude of space technology ventures we are pursuing. These activities will bring Filipinos closer to our goal of playing a significant role in the rapidly expanding and high potential field of space technology.”
Training Filipino engineers
De la Peña noted that the advancement of space research and development in the country has been part of the DOST’s priority goals.
“The creation of the PhilSA during my service as DOST Secretary is something that I will always be proud of,” he said.
“More than the building of infrastructures and creation of micro-satellites, we have to train our young Filipino engineers. It is very crucial for us to build a competent pool of human resources who will train and inspire the next generation of Filipino scientific minds,” he pointed out.
He also commended the young Filipino engineers for “continuously working hard to produce promising research and development outputs,” particularly their work on the Mula satellite.
“I am very happy to note that they have just passed the Qualification Status Review, which is a crucial stage in the satellite’s design phase throughout their satellite development training with the SSTL. Kudos to the whole team!” he said.
PhilSA Director-General Dr. Joel Marciano said satellites are also built with the objective of boosting local industrial capabilities for producing high-reliability systems.
“These are differentiated by their ability to work well in difficult and harsh environments such as space, and can be at the core of globally competitive products,” he said
“Furthermore, we use the satellites to generate images and other data, which we control and mobilize to support evidence-based policies for better governance, leading to productive communities and inclusive development. This is in line with PhilSA’s mission of value addition and creation from space that supports societal benefit and economic development.”
Challenges and difficulties
DOST-ASTI Chief Science Research Specialist Engr. Alvin E. Retamar, meanwhile, said that the team faced several challenges that were compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We had to ensure that all documents are crafted according to what is required, all compliance boxes are ticked off, and proper coordination is made with various offices, which were often done at dizzying speeds like an orbiting satellite moving at 7 kilometers per second,” he said.
Retamar likened the project’s beginnings to a space sci-fi journey, with the engineers’ deployment to the United Kingdom right before the Covid-19 travel restrictions being a real-life adventure in itself.
He also noted that this project marks the DOST-ASTI’s second time working with SSTL, with the first one being the capacity-sharing agreement signed by the two parties in 2019 for NovaSAR-1.
“I must note that the familiarity should help us move things forward as we take some of the guesswork out for both parties. All these efforts and factors brought us to where the project is now and we all look forward to its completion. Until that day, tasks remain, the road is still long, so may the odds be ever in our favor,” he said.
Secretary Dela Peña also disclosed how the DOST through ASTI has spearheaded various initiatives that helped build a strong foundation for this endeavor.
“Indeed, we have come a long way since the launching of the Diwata-1 microsatellite to the International Space Station in 2016, but there is still a lot of work to be done. We have just started,” he said.
Budget needed
“To sustain our momentum, it is crucial that resources continue to be available for our satellite development and space applications activities, which are all aligned with our national development goals. This is recognized in the Philippine Space Act, no less,” Marciano added.
PhilSA submitted its 2022 budget proposal to the Department of Budget and Management, with the development of Mula being included in its flagship program, ‘Build, Build, Build in Space-Philippine Satellites as a Vital Component of a National Information Infrastructure.”
Established on August 8, 2019, after the Republic Act 11363, or Philippine Space Act was signed into law, PhilSA builds on the foundation created by the development, launch, and operation of Earth Observation microsatellites Diwata-1 and Diwata-2 and CubeSats Maya-1, Maya-2 and the upcoming Maya satellites under Stamina4Space together with Japanese university partners.
“Stamina4Space, like all government-funded programs, has a termination date,” said Stamina4Space Program Leader Dr. Maricor Soriano. “Developing Mula is a fitting finale that allows the transition of satellite development from an academic, research setting to an operational, PhilSA-led endeavor.”