MANILA — President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. lauded the recent launching of another two locally- developed cube satellites (CubeSats) to the International Space Station (ISS), citing its significant contribution in various fields such as weather forecasting, traffic control as well as security and defense, among others.

In his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, President Marcos recognized the efforts of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in leading the development of the country’s capabilities in science and technology and innovation.

“The Philippines has launched two additional satellites into space,” the President said.

Together with the first satellite, they will track weather, predict storms, evaluate soil and water supplies, analyze shifts in population, and be used for traffic management, geo-hazard mapping, risk assessment, and even including security and defense,” he added.

Launched into space last June 5, Maya-5 and Maya-6 were the second set of CubeSats developed by scholars under the Space Science and Technology Proliferation through University Partnerships (STeP-UP) project of the STAMINA4Space Program funded by the DOST and being implemented by the University of the Philippines-Diliman and DOST Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI).

The very first CubeSats, called Maya-1, was launched in 2018 and decommissioned in November 2020. It was then followed by Maya-2 which was successfully launched in February 2021, then by the first set of locally-developed CubeSats Maya-3 and Maya-4 that were flown to space in August 2021.

“A culture of innovation, working hand-in-glove with a culture of entrepreneurship, must be fostered. This is ‘FILIPINNOVATION’. Science and technology, especially R&D, will be at its foundation,” the President said.

In line with the administration’s efforts to support the field of science and technology, Marcos said that Science and technology-related scholarships are made available “for the talented and technically-gifted students, from high school all the way to graduate school.”

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive reported the return of 44 renowned Filipino scientists in diverse areas of expertise to the Philippines as part of the Balik-Scientist Program.

“They will undertake research in various priority fields, and will be supported by upgraded facilities and R&D funding,” the President said.

“Science, technology and innovation will drive the quality and competitiveness of our workforce, as well as our manufacturing, export, creative, and service industries, in existing markets and in new ones waiting to be explored,” he added.