ASTI Ground Receiving Station Antenna capped with Radome

10 Jan 2019 4:41 PM
 
Radome Installation for the DOST-ASTI Ground Receiving Station's (GRS) 3.7m Transceiver Antenna.

Completed at 12:30, 7 December 2018 PHT, the satellite antenna atop the DOST-ASTI building, Diliman, Quezon City, is now contained inside a 7.5m Radome – a special spherical structure enclosing the antenna from physical forces while still allowing reception of satellite signals. 

06 December 2018. Test lifts on the uncompleted radome. 

Established under the Philippine Earth Data Resource and Observation (PEDRO) Center R&D Project, DOST-ASTI’s 3.7m transceiver antenna has been in constant operation since 2016 December. Since then, it has been receiving satellite data from DIWATA-1, and now DIWATA-2, alongside other supported foreign satellites. The Radome, weighing at approximately 1.5 tons, can withstand temperatures up to 80°C, wind speed of up to 320km/hr, and rainfall at 100mm/hr for 1 hour, thereby prolonging the effective lifespan of the antenna.  

07 December 2018. The radome minutes before its installation on the ASTI antenna.

07 December 2018. The antenna set-up after the radome was installed.

The Philippine Earth Data Resource and Observation (PEDRO) Center established a satellite Ground Receiving Station (GRS) facility in DOST-ASTI with direct access to a broad range of optical (high-resolution, multispectral) and radar (cloud-penetrating, day-night-imaging) satellite data. PEDRO is complementary to the Philippine Microsatellite (PHL-MICROSAT) Program, where ASTI is one of the main proponents. The PEDRO GRS facility receives daily imagery and data from the microsatellite, DIWATA-1 and DIWATA-2, which performs several applications based on its mission that includes environmental monitoring and disaster mitigation. 

For more updates regarding PEDRO’s satellites and R&D Projects, you may visit the PEDRO Center website or email us at grs@asti.dost.gov.ph.