Pagasa to get better satellite data access

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) will soon acquire its first multi-functional transport satellite (MTSAT) ground receiving facility that would allow the country to get weather data every 30 minutes, officials said yesterday.

The satellite is expected to be installed at the Pagasa main office in Quezon City on June 7, said bureau officer-in-charge Dr. Prisco Nilo.

Nilo compared the MTSAT with the current Geostationary Meteorological Satellite (GMS), which he said, provides data "only once every hour."

He told The STAR that the MTSAT costs about P5 million and was funded by the Department of Science and Technology.

MTSAT is a Japan-based transport satellite that provides satellite imagery to different weather forecasting agencies worldwide through the Internet.

Weather bureau chief Nathaniel Cruz earlier said that once the country acquires its own MTSAT equipment, weather forecasters would have access to a more comprehensive and complete satellite data.

The first GMS ground receiver was installed in Pagasa in 1982, which introduced the agency to space technology.

The equipment provided the agency with large-scale images of the atmosphere over the data-sparse western Pacific Ocean and contributed to the significant improvement of its weather forecasting capability.

Reports said that the facility was upgraded in 1988 to enable it to receive the high-resolution images being generated by the Japanese satellite. In 1991, the ground receiver for the polar-orbiting satellite of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States was installed to complement the existing facility.

From 1992 to 1993, additional satellite ground receivers were installed at the Pagasa stations in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Cagayan de Oro City and Mactan, Cebu.