PhilSA marks 10th year of Diwata-1, to launch another satellite in 2027

The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) on Monday announced that another satellite will be launched in early 2027, as microsatellite Diwata-1 marks a decade since its launch into space.

The Multispectral Unit for Land Assessment (MULA) is a high-capability operational satellite that will further enhance the country’s ability to monitor land, environment, and resources with greater precision and frequency.

Malacañang earlier said the MULA satellite could cover 73,000 square kilometers in 24 hours, gathering data across the Philippines’ land, air, and sea territories.

Once in orbit, MULA will be able to detect air and water quality, identify productive fishing grounds, monitor traffic in urban areas, and track vessels in the country’s territorial waters.

What started as a response to a crisis, Diwata-1 has paved the way for Filipino scientists to advance space science and technology, PhilSA said in a statement on Monday.

In the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013, Diwata-1 was developed to provide the Philippines with its own space-based tool for generating satellite imagery for disaster assessment.

“The historical significance of Diwata-1’s ISS release is that we became a spacefaring nation. The Philippines established a presence in space through a satellite built and operated by Filipinos,” said Gay Jane Perez, Diwata-1 project scientist.

Launched on April 27, 2016, Diwata-1 became the first Filipino-built object in space, marking the country’s entry into the space age.

It also opened opportunities for local teams to be trained in satellite operations and led to the development of Diwata-2, which offers improved imaging and broader applications.

PhilSA, which leads the country’s space program, processes satellite data into actionable information to support disaster response efforts.

These include monitoring the ongoing fire at the Navotas Sanitary Landfill, which has burned at least 28.6 hectares as of April 21, six days after it started.

“PhilSA has been providing satellite-derived information to assess the extent of the fire and its potential impacts on surrounding communities, including air quality considerations,” the agency said.

The microsatellite system also provided mapping data for landslide extent and damage assessment following the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck Bogo City, Cebu, in October 2025, which left at least 79 people dead.—MCG, GMA News