WHILE waiting for the launching of Diwata-2 at the view deck in Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima, Japan, with our cameras trained at the launch site, Dr. Joel Marciano, the head of Philippine Scientific Earth Observation Microsatellite Program (PHL-Microsat) whispered: “Don’t just look at the rising rocket [named H-IIA F40 that carries Diwata-2] through your camera. Look at the real event so you can feel it.”

I didn’t know and did not have the time to ask what he meant by “feel it.”

But as the countdown started and the rocket began rising into the sky with Diwata-2 on it, I began to understand what Dr. Marciano meant.

I felt goose bumps, teary-eyed even, proud that the Philippines was then flying its second microsatellite (microsat) to collect images or data to aid in various concerns in the country’s agriculture, environment, disaster management and many others.

The launch lasted for only one minute and 59 seconds. But it was worth all the time and long travel from Manila to witness the event.

We arrived in Japan on the midnight of October 27 and left on the midnight of October 29.

It took us more than one-and-a-half days from the evening of October 27 up to the morning of October 29, riding two airplanes, a ferry and a bus to reach Tanegashima Island in the south of Japan, where the space center is. Those rides was interspersed only by a few hours of sleep at a hotel each in Tokyo on the midnight of Saturday and in Kagoshima on Sunday evening.

Our group of five from Manila consisted of two officials from the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (Engr. Ermie Bacarra and Edna Nacianceno), PHL-Microsat Project Leader Engr. Mark Edwin Tupas, the Political Officer from the Office of Sen. Bam Aquino John Razil Paramio and myself.

Deputy Chief of Mission Eduardo Meñez of the Philippine Embassy in Japan, together with two embassy officials, joined us from Tokyo when we flew to Kagoshima on the south of Kyushu Island on the afternoon of October 28.

Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña, University of the Philippines Diliman Chancellor Michael Tan and Marciano arrived in Tokyo from Manila and proceeded to Kagoshima on the evening of October 28.

All of us from Manila went home immediately after the event on the evening of October 29. It was indeed a whistle-stop stay in Japan, all for Diwata-2!

Space center

THE sprawling Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (Jaxa) Tanegashima Space Center of about 9,700,000 square meters on the southeast coast of Tanegashima Island is the largest rocket-launch complex in Japan.

It is known as the most beautiful rocket-launch complex in the world. Among its facilities include the Yoshinobu Launch Complex.

Actually Diwata-2 was launched together with small satellites piggybacked on H-IIA F40 rocket with the main payloads Ibuki-2, also known as Jaxa’s Second Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite, and KhalifaSat, a remote sensing Earth observation satellite developed by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre in the United Arab Emirates.

The other small satellites launched were the Japanese-made Tenkou, Proiteres-2, Stars-AO and AUTcube-2.

Diwata-2 was inserted into the Sun-Synchronous Orbit at an altitude of 621 kilometers, 43 minutes and 20 seconds after rocket liftoff.

Japanese astronauts

BESIDES Diwata-2, the presence of two Japanese astronauts added glitter to the launching event.

Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi became the center of attraction of women, and also of men, who asked to be photographed with him during the dinner of traditional Japanese washoku food hosted by Jaxa on October 28 on the eve of the satellites’ launch, and on the launch itself the following day.

Well, they (er… yes, including myself) could not be faulted for such actions, because one does not meet an astronaut everyday, especially in the Philippines which has no astronaut yet.

Astronaut Koichi Wakata attended the meeting between the Philippine delegation, led by de la Peña, and Jaxa President Dr. Hiroshi Yamakawa shortly before the satellite’s launch.

Yamakawa even noticed the weather is cooperating with the fine, sunny day during the noontime launch of Diwata-2.

A proud moment. Everyone is hoping the microsat will help the space program zoom high.