Marcos tackles space agenda in Japan visit
The Philippines is working with Japan to use space technology for the benefit of Filipinos, President Marcos said from Osaka, Japan, on Saturday, after he met with officials of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa).
“We’re working with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, together with our very own Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA), to use space technology that helps protect and improve the lives of Filipinos,” the President said on social media on Saturday, after meeting with Jaxa officials.
The President did not reveal details of the meeting, but he did mention the Philippines’ incipient satellite program.
“With better satellites, we can track typhoons and respond to disasters more quickly, help our farmers plan smarter, and keep our communities safer,” Mr. Marcos said in his post.
Private Philippine companies jump-started the country’s satellite program, when the Mabuhay Satellite Corp., owned by PLDT Inc., acquired two, now-decommissioned communications satellites, Aguila-1 and Aguila-2.
The third privately-owned satellite, also called Agila, was launched in Cape Canaveral in Florida in December last year and is expected to remain in orbit until 2032 to 2035. The satellite is operated by San Francisco-based Astranis Space Technologies Corp. and Philippines-based Orbits Corp.
Japan’s involvement in the Philippine satellite program began in 2021, when Hokkaido University and Tohoku University initiated a project to send 50 microsatellites into space by 2050, including the two microsatellites for the Philippines, Diwata-1 and Diwata-2. They were the first to be designed and built by Filipinos.
Through the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), engineers from the University of the Philippines designed and developed the country’s first nanosatellites, Maya-1 and Maya-2.
Building know-how
Four more Maya cubesats were developed and launched from 2021 to 2023, with the assistance of Japanese engineers, but all four have already been decommissioned.
A cubesat measures no more than four cubic inches and weigh no more than two kilograms. They are designed to use readily available electronic components and typically launched into orbit from the International Space Station.
In 2021, the DOST announced that Filipino engineers started working on the largest satellite to be launched by the Philippines, measuring 2 x 2 x 2.5 feet—the Multispectral Unit for Land Assessment (Mula)—for a seven-year Earth observation mission.
Mula was developed with the assistance of UK firm Surrey Satellite Technology, which trained Filipino engineers on satellite design.
The Mula project is led by John Leur Labrador and is part of the DOST’s Advanced Satellite Program in cooperation with PhilSA, the University of the Philippines and DOST’s Advanced Science and Technology Institute.
In August last year, Mr. Marcos announced during the 8th Philippine Space Council meeting that Mula will be launched on a Falcon 9 rocket as part of SpaceX’s Transporter-16 mission, scheduled sometime between October 2025 and March 2026.
