Diwata-2 marks seven years in orbit, surpassing its original five-year design lifespan.
Since its launch on 29 October 2018, the Philippines’ second microsatellite has continuously carried out Earth observation (EO) missions dedicated to environmental monitoring and post-disaster assessment.
As of February 2025, Diwata-2 has captured a total of 157,804 satellite images worldwide. It has also covered 96.47% or approximately 293,907.93 km² of the Philippine land area.
These images have supported various applications, such as monitoring Tropical Cyclone Shanshan (local name: Luis) in 2024, conducting payload calibration and assessment activities, and providing data to partner institutions and stakeholders.
In strengthening regional cooperation and post-disaster response, images acquired by Diwata-2 are also shared with neighboring countries during calamities through the Sentinel Asia Network, following PhilSA’s admission as a Data Provider Node (DPN) member in 2023.
Diwata-2 also has an active number of amateur radio units (ARU) users globally using PO-101. Check out the map below to see where Diwata-2’s ARU users are located.
Diwata-2 enters continuous sunlight
Diwata-2’s seventh year also marks a new stage as its orbit slowly moved away from its original Sun-synchronous path.
This orbital change is reflected in a shift in its β (beta) angle, the angle between the satellite’s orbital plane and the Sun’s position, which indicates how the satellite is oriented relative to the Sun. This gradual shift was first observed in the second quarter of 2025.
The β angle also affects the satellite’s eclipse duration, or the time it spends on Earth’s shadow. When the β angle is small, Diwata-2 experiences regular eclipses each orbit. At larger β angles, however, the satellite remains in continuous sunlight. While constant sunlight ensures more power from solar panels, it also increases the risk of thermal stress, potentially limiting certain operations to prevent overheating.
Due to the orbital shift, Diwata-2 has entered an orbit exposed to continuous sunlight. To prevent potential thermal damage, the satellite has been placed in preventive hibernation mode. In this state, its operations are limited to the transmission of telemetry data or status updates sent from the satellite to the ground station, and ARU activities.
Diwata-2 unfolds solar array paddles
Despite the shift in its orbit, Diwata-2’s seventh year in space continues to open opportunities for experimentation, particularly through the successful deployment of its experimental solar array panels.
Its successful deployment demonstrates the satellite’s extended functionality beyond its design life and continued contribution to the project’s mission and objectives. This milestone also offers valuable insights into power generation, thermal performance, and satellite longevity, key considerations for future satellite designs and end-of-life operations.
For Diwata-2, these solar array panels are mounted on deployable paddles which compact during launch and can be extended once in orbit to capture sunlight for power generation.
Each Deployable Solar Array Paddle (DSAP) is made up of four key parts: the paddle, hinge mechanism, lock mechanism, and release mechanism. The paddles are held in place by Dyneema wires, which are cut using a tether-burning system to release and unfold the panels.
Until early 2025, Diwata-2 remained in its stowed configuration, meaning it kept its compact cube shape with the panels folded along its sides. By March 2025, the DSAP was successfully deployed, allowing the satellite to generate up to 35% power increase. After deployment, these panels help the satellite get more power from the Sun and continue its experiments in space. This feature is an upgrade from its predecessor, Diwata-1.
The shift in Diwata-2’s orbit requires careful planning to ensure its continued and sustainable operations. The satellite is expected to leave its period of continuous sunlight by the first week of November 2025, when normal day-and-night cycles, or eclipse periods, will resume until February 2026. Under these improved lighting conditions, and while still operating with limited capacity, the team will carefully plan the reactivation of certain subsystems, including payload operations, to gradually restore the satellite’s functions.
About Diwata-2
Diwata-2 is the Philippines’ second 50-kg Earth observation microsatellite, developed by researchers from the University of the Philippines Diliman (UP Diliman) and the Advanced Science and Technology Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-ASTI) in cooperation with Tohoku and Hokkaido Universities under the PHL-Microsat Program. Launched into a 600 km sun-synchronous orbit on 29 October 2018, it features improved imaging and attitude control systems and an amateur radio unit for emergency communication. Since 2022, the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) has been overseeing its tracking and tasking operations.