Possible aerospace project in the Davao Region

Mindanaoherald | Possible aerospace project in the Davao Region | DAVAO CITY – An adviser for the rocketry team at Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) said Wednesday that the Davao Region is about to become an important center for flight in the whole country.

Based on their research, Dr. Rogel Mari Sese, chair of the AdDU Aerospace Engineering (ASE) department and lead assistant of the rocketry team, said that the area is the best in the country to send rockets into space.

“We found that a launch facility is one of the most important pieces of infrastructure a country can have in our study about the space industry.” Some other industries, like manufacturing, will also grow because of this, and we hope to bring these industries to the region in the future, Sese told reporters here.

After Sese and the AdDU Rocketry Team successfully launched rocket “Sibol” at the 7th annual Spaceport America Cup in New Mexico, USA, on June 22, people were eager to make the area an aerospace hub.

For student rocketry teams, the Spaceport America Cup 2024 is the biggest Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition in the world. About 200 teams from 20 countries are in it.

The AdDU Rocketry Team fired up “Sibol,” their rocket, and sent it flying into the sky. They were the first Filipino team to participate in the prestigious Spaceport America Cup. The rocket’s 9.7-foot height reached a target altitude of 10,000 feet.

It was my job to run the National Space Development Program for the Department of Science and Technology in the past. Sese said, “Our main goal was to set up the Philippine Space Agency and the Philippine Space Utilization Policy, which we did in 2019.”

He said that the Davao area is already getting a lot of attention as a possible center for aerospace and astrotourism.

“We call it that because it leads to the stars from the Philippines,” Sese said. (via PNA)