THE Philippines’ early satellite program began with communications, but two decades later it had shifted toward developing spacecraft and training Filipino engineers to build and operate them.
The first step came in 1996, when Mabuhay Satellite Corp. acquired Palapa B2P, an Indonesian communications satellite already in orbit, and renamed it Agila-1. The acquisition gave the Philippines its first Philippine-owned satellite and added satellite capacity to the country’s telecommunications system.
Agila-2 followed the next year as a purpose-built communications satellite for Mabuhay Philippines Satellite Corp. It was launched on Aug. 19, 1997, aboard a Long March 3B rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China.
Built by Space Systems/Loral, Agila-2 was placed in geostationary orbit at 146 degrees east. The satellite provided television, telephone and data communications across the Asia-Pacific region.
Agila-1 and Agila-2 represented the Philippines’ initial approach to space: acquiring and operating satellite communications infrastructure rather than developing spacecraft domestically.
Diwata-1 was launched March 23, 2016, aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It was transported to the International Space Station and released into orbit on April 27, becoming the first Filipino-built satellite in space.
The 52.4-kilogram microsatellite was developed under the Philippine Scientific Earth Observation Microsatellite, or PHL-Microsat, program through cooperation among the Department of Science and Technology, the University of the Philippines Diliman, Tohoku University and Hokkaido University. Unlike the Agila satellites, which were designed for telecommunications, Diwata-1 was built for scientific Earth observation.
It carried a High Precision Telescope, a Space-borne Multispectral Imager and a Wide Field Camera. The instruments were used to collect imagery for applications including disaster assessment, environmental monitoring, vegetation assessment and observations of ocean and weather conditions.
Diwata also had a larger objective: developing local expertise in spacecraft engineering. Filipino scientists and engineers participated in the satellite’s design, development, testing and operation. The program provided practical experience in spacecraft systems and helped establish facilities and training programs for continuing space research in the Philippines.
Diwata-2, was launched in 2018. The same year, Maya-1 became the Philippines’ first nanosatellite, developed by Filipino researchers and students through the Kyushu Institute of Technology’s Birds Satellite Project.
The three spacecraft marked a transition in the country’s space program. The Agila satellites gave Philippine operators experience in owning and operating satellites, while the Diwata and Maya programs developed the capability to design, build and operate spacecraft.
Diwata-1 also demonstrated the potential value of having Philippine-controlled Earth-observation capability. Satellite imagery could be used for disaster response, environmental monitoring and other scientific applications without relying entirely on externally sourced data.
The development of these satellites helped create a base of Filipino engineers and researchers with experience in spacecraft systems. It also provided the technical foundation for subsequent Philippine space projects and contributed to the growth of space science and engineering programs in Philippine universities.