The Maya-2 Flight Model (FM). A 1U, 10x10x10-centimeter CubeSat weighing 1.3 kilograms. (Photo courtesy of BIRDS-4 Project)

The Philippines' second cube satellite (CubeSat) Maya-2 was successfully launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on 21 February 2021 aboard the S.S. Katherine Johnson Cynus spacecraft, the final step before the satellite goes through deployment by the ISS.

Maya-2 was designed and developed by Filipino scholars sent to the Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech) in Japan. This was made possible through the Space Science and Technology Proliferation through University Partnerships (STeP-UP) Project of the Space Technology and Applications Mastery, Innovation and Advancement (STAMINA4Space) Program.

The Maya-2 was launched together with two identical CubeSats from Japan (Tsuru) and Paraguay (GuaraniSat-1) as part of the Northrop Grumman CRS-15 mission. All three were developed under Kyutech’s 4th Joint Global Multi-Nation Birds Satellite (BIRDS-4) Project.

The Maya-2 is also a technology demonstration and educational platform developed for remote data collection through Store-and-Forward (S&F) Mechanism, similar to its predecessor Maya-1 which decommissioned on 23 November 2020.

BIRDS-2 PH Team during Maya-2 Devt (courtesy of BIRDS-4 Project)

Developed and improved using the knowledge gained from the development of the Maya-1, this 1.3kg CubeSat is equipped with 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.

STAMINA4Space is implemented by the DOST Advanced Science and Technology Institute (DOST-ASTI) and the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD).

For more information, visit the STAMINA4Space Website.