MANILA— Two cube satellites, Maya 3 and Maya 4, will be launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday afternoon, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has said.
The DOST said this is the first time that two Philippine-made cube satellites would be lofted together. The satellites, which will gather ground data, among others, will be launched at 3:37 p.m., Manila time.
The launch is part of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) SpaceX commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS), according to information on NASA’s and DOST’s platforms.
“The CubeSats will leave Earth aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket’s Dragon C208 as part of the SpaceX Commercial Resupply Mission-23 (SpX-23),” the science department said in a Facebook post.
The resupply services are part of the “scientific research and technology demonstrations” which aimed to aid experiments aboard ISS, a separate explanation from NASA read.
“Experiments aboard include an investigation into protecting bone health with botanical byproducts, testing a way to monitor crew eye health, demonstrating improved dexterity of robots, exposing construction materials to the harsh environment of space, mitigating stress in plants, and more,” NASA added.
MAYA 3 AND MAYA 4
Maya 3 and Maya 4 were developed under the STAMINA4Space program through the support of DOST, the University of the Philippines Diliman, the Kyushu Institute of Technology, and the Philippine Space Agency.
Among the missions of the two cube satellites is to demonstrate image and video capture of an RGB camera and a near-infrared camera, as well as to exhibit ground data acquisition allowing for collection of data from remote ground sensors such as temperature and humidity.
The satellites are also expected to demonstrate a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) global positioning system (GPS) module and magnetic field measurement in space, among other things.
Young Filipino scholars helped develop Maya 3 and Maya 4 together with other scholars from other countries.
Maya 1 was launched in 2018, while Maya 2 was launched earlier this year.
You can register here to book your online ticket for the event and get more information and updates from NASA’s SpX-23 mission, according to DOST.
— Reports from Jekki Pascual and Job Manahan, ABS-CBN News
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