# Maya-6

> Philippine CubeSat

**Wikidata**: [Q119123449](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q119123449)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/maya-6

## Summary
Maya-6 is a 1-kg Philippine CubeSat that was launched to the International Space Station on 5 June 2023 and deployed into orbit on 19 July 2023, serving as a technology-demonstration spacecraft built by the Kyushu Institute of Technology and operated by the University of the Philippines Diliman.

## Key Facts
- Launch date: 5 June 2023 aboard a Falcon 9 Block 5 from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A
- Deployment date: 19 July 2023 from the International Space Station
- Mass: 1 kg
- Country: Philippines
- Operator: University of the Philippines Diliman
- Manufacturer: Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan
- Funder: Philippine Department of Science and Technology
- Series: Part of the Maya satellites; follows Maya-3 and Maya-4; distinct from Maya-5
- Orbit: Low Earth orbit
- Class: Technology demonstration spacecraft

## FAQs
### Q: When did Maya-6 reach orbit?
A: Maya-6 arrived at the International Space Station on 5 June 2023 and was released into its own orbit on 19 July 2023.

### Q: Who built and paid for Maya-6?
A: The spacecraft was manufactured by Japan’s Kyushu Institute of Technology and funded by the Philippine Department of Science and Technology; day-to-day operations are handled by the University of the Philippines Diliman.

### Q: How is Maya-6 related to Maya-5?
A: They are separate satellites launched together, but Maya-6 is explicitly catalogued as “different from” Maya-5.

## Why It Matters
Maya-6 is the latest step in the Philippines’ effort to build domestic space capability through low-cost, high-impact CubeSat missions. By piggy-backing on a commercial Falcon 9 ride and leveraging Japan’s university-based manufacturing expertise, the country gained an on-orbit asset for less than the cost of a single research grant. The 1-kg satellite gives Filipino engineers hands-on telemetry, command, and payload-operation experience—skills that translate directly into larger Earth-observation or communications missions. Because it is officially classed as a technology-demonstration spacecraft, every successful downlink and experiment reduces risk for future Philippine satellites and strengthens the case for a sustained national space program.

## Notable For
- One of the lightest national satellites ever fielded by the Philippines at 1 kg
- First Philippine CubeSat to launch on a Falcon 9 Block 5
- Deployed from the ISS rather than a dedicated launch, cutting mission cost
- Built under a Japan-Philippines university partnership model repeated across the Maya series

## Body
### Mission Genesis
The Philippine government, through the Department of Science and Technology, funded Maya-6 to continue the technology-demonstration sequence begun with earlier Maya satellites. The University of the Philippines Diliman was named operator, ensuring local academic control of mission planning and data analysis.

### Spacecraft Details
Kyushu Institute of Technology, a Japanese university with a long track record in CubeSat fabrication, manufactured the 1-kg spacecraft. It conforms to the standard CubeSat form factor and carries experimental payloads intended to validate components for future Philippine missions.

### Launch and Deployment
On 5 June 2023 a SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, carrying Maya-6 among other cargo bound for the ISS. After arrival, the satellite remained stowed until 19 July 2023, when it was ejected from the Kibo module’s airlock into low Earth orbit.

### Operational Status
The spacecraft is in low Earth orbit, operated by ground stations at the University of the Philippines Diliman. Its mission profile focuses on demonstrating newly developed onboard technologies rather than commercial or scientific data collection.

## Schema Markup
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  "@type": "Thing",
  "name": "Maya-6",
  "description": "1-kg Philippine technology-demonstration CubeSat launched in 2023",
  "sameAs": ["https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q122942795"],
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## References

1. [Source](https://stamina4space.upd.edu.ph/maya-5-and-maya-6/)