The Philippines’ fourth satellite and second nanosatellite, Maya-2, was successfully deployed into orbit from the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday evening, March 14, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said.
DOST Secretary Fortunato “Boy” T. de la Peña expressed elation over the successful release of the cube satellite to the space from the ISS on Sunday, at 7:20 p.m. (local time).
"The successful launching of Maya 2 makes me feel proud. The accomplishment made possible by our young researchers and engineers should make us confident that we can do more in the area of space technology,” he said in a Viber message.
"I have high hopes that we as a people will be able to benefit more from developments in this area- all towards making the quality of life of our people better.”
The 1.3-kilogram Maya-2 was deployed into orbit from the ISS on Sunday, at 7:20 p.m., said Izrael Zenar “IZ” Bautista, project manager of the BIRDS-4 project.
Two other cube satellites--Japan’s Tsuru and Paraguay’s GuaraniSat-1 were also released to the space from the ISS.
The cube satellites are under the fourth Joint Global Multi-Nation Birds Satellite project or BIRDS-4 Project, a global small satellite development project under a strategic partnership pact between the Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech) and the Japan Aerospace and Exploration Agency (JAXA).
On Feb. 21, 2021 at 1:36 a.m. (local time), Maya-2 was successfully launched into space aboard the S.S. Katherine Johnson Cygnus spacecraft. The cube satellite was successfully launched together with the nanosatellites of Japan and Paraguay at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Station in Virginia, United States and was eventually launched to the ISS on Feb. 22.
Maya-2 is a technology demonstration and educational platform geared to collect data remotely by Store-and-Forward (S&F) Mechanism.
Aboard the satellite is a camera for image and video capture, an Automatic Packet Reporting System Message Digipeater (APRS-DP), attitude determination and control units for active attitude stabilization and control demonstrations, Perovskite solar cells and Latchup-detection chip.
The development of Maya-2 started in 2018.
Maya-2 was developed by three Filipino engineers—Bautista, Marloun Sejera, and Mark Angelo Purio, while pursuing their doctoral degree programs in Space Engineering in Kyutech in Japan.