Maya-5 and Maya-6

Maya-5 and Maya-6 are the second set of Philippine university-built CubeSats, currently being developed by the second batch of STeP-UP scholars. The project aims to gain and locally extend the knowledge and skills on satellite development acquired from foreign schooling and utilize the domestic capabilities for satellite development. The two cube satellites share the same bus but differ in mission payload. Maya-5 has the same mission payload as that of the Maya-2, and Maya-6 has the experimental on-board computer (OBC-EX) mission payload, which controls the attitude determination and control system (ADCS) and hentenna (HNT) missions. The development of Maya-5 and Maya-6 aims to continue and build on the country’s initiatives on satellite development while transitioning to locally available components and fabricated boards, and manufactured structural frames by designing, building, testing, launching, and operating satellites that will serve as the heritage for future CubeSat missions.

Maya-5 and Maya-6 overview
Class
Cube Satellite (Cubesat)
Mass
-1 kg
Type
Technology Demonstration
Dimensions
10cm x 10 cm x 10 cm (Stowed State)
Orbit
Low Earth
Payloads
  • Mission Board 1
    • Maya-5
      • Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS), which is the primary source of attitude information of the satellite
      • Hentenna (HNT), which is an experimental communication system that uses the satellite structure as an antenna
    • Maya-6
      • Experimental on-board computer (OBC-EX), an original development of the STeP-UP project. The goal of the OBC-EX is to become a foundation for future CubeSats, which will have an integrated system that can act as a secondary on-board computer, determine and control the satellite’s attitude, and use the satellite’s structure as a communication system to the ground station.
  • Mission Board 2 (Maya-5 and Maya-6)
    • Camera Mission (CAM), which will capture images of the Earth from space
    • Image Classification Unit (ICU) mission, which is an on-board image processor that uses Machine Learning to classify the images taken by the Camera Mission
    • Automatic Packet Reporting System- Digipeater (APRS-DP), which is an amateur radio based, real-time, local and digital communication system which can receive packets, process them and retransmit them back on the same frequency
    • Store and Forward (S&F) mission, which collects data from specific distributed sensors all around remote locations on Earth, “stores” them in the CubeSat and “forwards” it to a designated ground station once it passes over it
Launch
Target: 2022
Release
To be determined
Mission
  • To give continuity to two missions; Imaging Mission (CAM) and Store & Forward (SF-WARD)
  • To serve the Amateur radio community with APRS-Digipeater mission (APRS-DP)
  • To design, build, test and demonstrate Experimental On-Board Computer (OBC-EX)
  • To demonstrate CubeSat structure as antenna (HNT)
  • To demonstrate the on-board image classification unit (ICU)
  • To expand database of COTS components useful in space applications (TMCR)
Status
Under Development
Maya-5 and Maya-6 timeline
Follow Maya-5's and Maya-6's space journey.