About the guest: Izrael Bautista is currently finishing his PhD in Space Systems Engineering at Kyushu University. He is also the project manager for BIRDS-4, a cubesatellite project involving different engineers from the Philippines, Paraguay, Nepal, Turkey, and Japan. His involvement in the Philippine Microsatellite Project started from 2015, and since then he has contributed in the development of the power system of Diwata-1 and Diwata-2 satellites. He has a bachelor's degree in ECE and a master's degree in Energy Engineering both from UP Diliman.

In the first half of the episode we talked about:

• How he first got involved with the Philippine Microsatellite Project
• His contributions for the Diwata-1 and Diwata-2 projects
• What is an amateur radio
• The data that we can get from our satellites
• Why he decided to pursue PhD in Space Systems Engineering
• The subjects he took for this degree, and the format of their classes
• The mission of the BIRDS-4 Project, and the make-up of their team
• His role and contributions to this project
• The technology he used for the solar cell of the satellite
• The background necessary to qualify for Space Systems Engineering
• The timeline of the project, and why most cubesatellites last only 1-2 years
• The new career opportunities that opened up for him because of Space Engineering

In the second half of the episode we talked about:

• The harsh conditions that satellites should be able to withstand
• The challenges in the communications with the satellite
• What our Space Agency is working on now, and the kinds of roles they need inside
• The future goals of the Philippine Space Agency
• Where we're getting our funds for our space missions today
• Why space data is valuable to private enterprises
• Why pursue a career in Space Systems Engineering
• Why satellites are the king of systems
• How someone can start learning amateur radio