About

Philippine Earth Data Resource and Observation (PEDRO) Center

The PEDRO Center installed the first satellite tracking antenna in the country and established a Ground Receiving Station to access earth-surface information for disaster management, environmental monitoring, national security, urban mapping, rehabilitation assessment, and research purposes.

Since its inception on December 2016, PEDRO Center has stored, archived,  and delivered 1300+ images to various agencies. During the first quarter of 2018 alone, a total of 326 images were distributed and used to cover relevant areas and events like Typhoon Agaton, Mayon Volcano Emissions, Marawi Siege and Rehabilitation, Mt. Pulag Forest Fire, and Kalayaan Group of Islands. 

History

The Department of Science and Technology - Advanced Science and Technology Institute started developing its information and communicatons technology infrastructure as a co-implementing agency of the PHL Microsatellite program in 2014. 

With this, the DOST-ASTI implemented the PEDRO Center Project to establish a Ground Receiving Station that will complement the operations of DIWATA-1.  The project installed the first satellite tracking antenna in the Philippines. This allowed the  ground receiving facility to directly receive image data and to upload commands like captures and download of images from DIWATA-1.

The PEDRO Center expanded its connection to various satellites for better earth surface data collection. Currently, PEDRO can directly download images from DIWATA-1, KompSat- 3, and KompSat-5. The GRS can also access data from KompSat-3A, KompSat-2, GeoEye-1, WorldView-1, WorldView-3, Worldview-4, Cosmo-Skymed, PlanetScope, RapidEye, and SkySat. Through these satellites, the PEDRO Center gather wide-range of data for different purposes.

Moving forward, PEDRO aims to continuously provide accessible earth surface data and expand its connection to different satellites. By the end of 2018, PEDRO aims to establish a second Ground Receiving Station in Davao City in partnership with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, Department of Information Communication Technology, and Department of Science and Technology Region XI. The Davao Ground Receiving Station will have a larger moving antenna with 7.3m diameter and will be capable of receiving higher frequency of data.