The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) expressed optimism that the STAMINA4Space program will further boost the country’s space research and development (R&D) initiatives.

According to the DOST, the STAMINA4Space or the Space Technology and Applications Mastery, Innovation, and Advancement program received P867.5 million in combined project funding from the science department.

STAMINA4Space leads the design and development of the satellites' electromechanical and structural subsystems, in addition to missions for their scientific and operational payloads.

The program also directs the Diwata microsatellite operations, and the management and dissemination of collected space data.

“Success in its implementation would expand the pool of scientists and engineers that could train their peers on space infrastructure and systems, as well as educate young students through promotional activities, the K-12 curriculum, and university courses,” the DOST said.

“This could then be supported by a capable workforce by which satellite data can be translated to agricultural, disaster risk reduction, and other applications—even to local fabrication of satellite components and product testing in a space environment,” it added.

The DOST's Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development monitors its joint implementation by the Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) and the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman.

Advancing space science

The STAMINA4Space program succeeded the Development of Philippine Scientific Earth Observation Microsatellite (PHL-Microsat) Program.

The program focuses on the development of local expertise in Space Technology and Applications (STA) to spur the growth of high-value industries in the country.

Moreover, it aims to address the needs in scientific earth observation for disaster risk reduction and management, resource assessment, environmental monitoring and other applications.

Dr. Maricor N. Soriano, a professor of physics at UP Diliman, currently leads the program. She specializes in developing hardware and software tools for video and image processing.

Milestones

Space science, technology, and innovation in the Philippines reached significant milestones this year with the launch of the Maya-2 cube satellite (CubeSat) in February and the Maya-3 and Maya-4 in August.

“These historic feats were made possible by the STAMINA4Space research and development (R&D) program through the STeP-UP project, thus building upon the gains of the PHL-Microsat program that developed the Diwata-1 launched in March 2016,” the DOST said.

STeP-UP or Space Science and Technology Proliferation through University Partnerships is a graduate program with a nano-satellite engineering track housed within UP Diliman’s Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute.

STAMINA4Space recently celebrated the three years in space of Diwata-2, the country’s second microsatellite.

The 57-kilogram satellite was launched into space on Oct. 29, 2018 from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan at 12:08 p.m. (Manila time), and started orbiting in space at 12:51 p.m.

Its operation is handled by the engineers and scientists of STAMINA4Space, as well as the processing of the captured images.

“Diwata-2 has since captured 72,308 images all over the world, and has covered 85.13 percent of the Philippine’s land area,” the STAMINA4Space said.

“As the satellite enters the fourth year of its space journey, Diwata-2 will continue its Earth Observation tasks,” it added.