We now have a microsatellite that can be sent out into space, but our Metro rail Transit (MRT) trains are going nowhere.
“The DIWATA-1, the Philippines’ first microsatellite, was unveiled by Filipino and Japanese researchers on Wednesday (January 13) at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency,” reports Reuters.
Dr. Rowena Cristina L. Guevara, the Undersecretary for Scientific and Technological Services of Department of Science and Technology, said, “This is the first microsatellite that is built with Filipino engineers, and also the first microsatellite of the Philippines.”
DIWATA-1 is “a smooth, silver metal device is small in scale, weighing about 110 pounds.”
The report noted: “The Philippines’ Department of Science and Technology funded the project entirely, investing 800 million yen (USD$6.8 million) DIWATA-1. The Filipino engineers were given the research know-how by Japanese researchers, including Tohoku University Space Robotics professor Kazuya Yoshida.”
The satellite is part of the Department of Science and Technology’s Philippine Scientific Earth Observation Micro-Satellite (PHL-Microsat) Program.
