By Tara Yap
ILOILO CITY—The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is planning to put up a satellite ground station in Dumangas town, Iloilo, for both the country’s Diwata 1 and Diwata micro-satellites.
Solar Array Panel Deployment Test of Diwata-2 Flight Model (Photo from PHL-Microsat / DOST / MANILA BULLETIN)
“We need a strategic place. We thought it would be best to establish it in Iloilo—located in the center of the country,” said Dr. Enrico
Paringit, executive director of DOST’s Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD).
The Philippine Scientific Earth Observation Microsatellite (PHL-Microsat) Program already has satellite ground stations in Metro Manila.
“But for a better and wider coverage, we need similar facilities in other parts of the country. The more stations that we have, the more chances to capture and download data from the satellites,” Paringit explained to Manila Bulletin.
Paringit also noted that ground stations are necessary as backup facilities in case the ground stations in Metro Manila are disabled by typhoons or other disasters.
Aside from Iloilo, DOST and PHL-Microsat also plan to establish a satellite ground station in Davao sometime next year.