The first batch of scholars of the Space Science and Technology Proliferation through University Partnerships (STeP-UP) has arrived in Japan for the testing phase of their own cube satellites.
The scholars, who are under the Space Technology & Applications Mastery, Innovation and Advancement (STAMINA4Space) program led by the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, have been in the East Asian country as early as Dec. 21, as per the said program’s announcement on Facebook the next day.
Under the said program, they were able to build the first locally made cube satellites, which were named Maya-3 and Maya-4.
The scholars were trained in the first-ever Master’s in Engineering in Electrical Engineering program, with a special focus on nanosatellite engineering, at the UP Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute with the help of its partner, the Kyushu Institute of Technology (KyuTech) in Japan, according to UP’s release on Nov. 23.
Maya-3 and Maya-4, which weigh barely over a kilogram each, “can contribute considerably to the country’s economic, territorial, and disaster risk reduction efforts,” UP stated.
Also under the STAMINA4Space program, which is funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the first Filipino-made nanosatellite named Maya-1 returned only last month after two years of orbiting the Earth.
The said program “aims to continue and build up the research and capacity building activities from the PHL-Microsat Program on satellite development and operation in the country,” as stated by UP on its website.
The Philippines started investing in space programs back in 2012, an effort that eventually led to the establishment of the Philippine Space Agency last year, DOST Undersecretary for Research and Development Dr. Rowena Cristina Guevarra noted in her Dec. 8 talk at the Space Engineering International Course at KyuTech.