PH microsatellite Diwata-1 reaches Int’l Space Station

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PH microsatellite Diwata-1 reaches Int’l Space Station
The unmanned space freighter Cygnus, carrying the Diwata-1 microsatellite in its payload of experiments and supplies, successfully docks at the International Space Station

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ first microsatellite, the Diwata-1, has finally reached the International Space Station (ISS) Saturday, March 26. 

Diwata-1 is part of the payload of the unmanned cargo ship Cygnus, which successfully docked at the ISS on Saturday, NASA partner Orbital ATK said. 

Cygnus, which blasted off Tuesday, March 22, on the resupply run, was carrying 7,900 pounds (3.6 metric tons) of supplies to the station for the ISS crew of 6 astronauts, as well as components to support dozens of science and research probes.

Cygnus was captured by the space station’s robotic arm, operated by crew members, and guided into its berthing port. The operation was over by 1452 GMT.

“Our flexible Cygnus spacecraft has a lot of work left to do. Following its stay at the ISS, and for the first time, we will undertake 3 experiments onboard the unmanned spacecraft,” said Frank Culbertson, president of Orbital ATK’s Space Systems Group.

The pressurized vessel will stay at the ISS until May.

At the ISS, Diwata will be housed under the Japanese Experimentation Module (JEM) “Kibo.” The JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer is set to release Diwata-1 into space at an altitude of 400 km from the Earth’s surface, by April. (READ: Excitement, hope as PH launches own microsatellite)

Diwata-1 carries a high precision telescope for imaging, and could be used for assessment of extent of damage during disasters, a space-borne multispectral imager for monitoring bodies of water and vegetation, and a wide field camera for observing large-scale weather patterns.

Scientific cargo

After loading Cygnus with trash and once it is at a safe distance from the station, NASA engineers will then set off a blaze inside the capsule to see how large flames behave in space.

NASA has set off tiny controlled fires in space in the past, but never tested how large flames react inside an orbiting space capsule.

Cygnus’ cargo also includes an instrument that, for the first time, will allow experts to evaluate, from space, the chemical composition of meteors entering Earth’s atmosphere.

It was also carrying a new 3D printer and another scientific highlight includes a so-called Gecko Gripper, a mechanism similar to the tiny hairs on the feet of geckos that makes it possible for them to stick to surfaces.

This technology could one day be used on the hands and feet of robots that would move along the exterior of spacecraft to carry out inspections and repairs.

It is Orbital’s fifth supply mission to the ISS, as part of a $1.9 billion contract with NASA to deliver necessities to the astronauts living in space. – With reports from Agence France-Presse / Rappler.com

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