Both satellites are in
Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) which means they will travel from pole to pole to take images as the Earth rotates.
The
sun-synchronous orbit of Diwata-2 means a regularly occurring passes around noontime and midnight.
EgyptSat-A will also benefit from a more powerful carrier rocket, allowing it to be placed into a
sun-synchronous orbit more suited to Earth imaging than the lower-inclination orbit in which EgyptSat-2 operated.
The satellite will be placed in 636 km polar
sun-synchronous orbit with an inclination of 97.957 degrees.
Diwata-2 was inserted into the
Sun-Synchronous Orbit at an altitude of 621 kilometers, 43 minutes and 20 seconds after rocket liftoff.
The DOST said Diwata-2 boasts of added features from the previous Diwata launched into orbit in April 2016, with a deployable solar panel, enhanced resolution cameras, a
sun-synchronous orbit that will allow a fixed revisit interval and a larger area of coverage, an amateur ham radio unit for emergency satellite radio communications, an experimental altitude determination module and an omnidirectional sun-aspect sensor.
Talampas said Diwata-2 will also be staying longer in space at around three to five years, as it will be launched higher at 621 kilometers in a
sun-synchronous orbit.
Developed by the China Academy of Space Technology based on China's CAST 2000 satellite module, the Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite 1 is expected to work in a
sun-synchronous orbit for at least seven years.
It will operate in
sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 640km.
He added that the satellite will be launched at 610 km
sun-synchronous orbit in July, 2018.