The Philippines will launch Diwata-2—its second microsatellite—into space on October 29 between 12:08 and 12:30 noon Philippine time from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan via H-IIA F40 rocket.
Diwata-2 is funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), monitored by DOST-Philippine Council for Industry and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD).
It is done through the collaboration between the University of the Philippines Diliman, the DOST-Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) and Japan’s Hokkaido and Tohoku universities.
It was planned and designed in 2016 right after Diwata-1 was released from the International Space Station (ISS) on August 27, 2016. Both Diwata-1 and Diwata-2 are Earth-observing microsatellites capable of capturing images of the Earth for environmental assessment.
The Philippines’s first cube satellite, Maya-1, was deployed from the ISS on August 10.
Upgrade from its predecessor
Diwata-2 will orbit at a higher altitude of about 620 kilometers for an increased life span and a sun-synchronous orbit, which will enable fixed revisit intervals that would make repeated environmental monitoring of specific areas possible.
But like Diwata-1, it will also carry a Wide Field Camera, Middle Field Camera, High Precision Telescope and Spaceborne Multispectral Imager (SMI) with Liquid Crystal Tunable Filter although with notable improvements in performance.
Compared to its predecessor, Diwata-2 has deployable solar panels for increased power generation output and an Enhanced Resolution Camera, which increases the resolution of images taken by SMI.
It will feature two locally made experimental modules: an Amateur Radio Unit for emergency communications, and a Satellite Orientation Module for increased pointing accuracy and future satellite development initiatives.
Diwata-2 has undergone major iterations since planning began. These include a simulation model, a mechanical test model, an engineering model and, finally, the flight model. The Diwata-2 Flight Model was completed on August 29, and handed over to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on the following day.
These satellites are part of the Philippine Scientific Earth Observation Microsatellite Program that aims to build, launch and effectively utilize micro-satellite technology for multispectral, high-precision Earth observation.