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Fears grow for future of ROCSAT-2

In recent weeks, there has been intense media speculation as to whether the contract for construction on the ROCSAT-2 satellite (??µØ½Ã¬P?G¸1) has been canceled. Part of the system is being built by the German-based company Dornier Satelliten Systeme GmbH under contract from Taiwan's National Science Council (NSC, °ê®a¬ì¾Ç©e-û·|). Both the NSC and Dornier yesterday refused to confirm the reports.

Dornier Satelliten Systeme GmbH, the builder of the satellite's payload system, told the Taipei Times yesterday that the contract was officially still valid.

"No official cancellation letter has been received from our client in Taiwan [NSC] so far. We are still communicating with the German government and are seeking to obtain the required technology export permit for ROCSAT-2," said Goetz Wange, director of Dornier's public relations office.

A local paper reported yesterday that the NSC has decided to cancel the contract with Dornier, and has turned to French-based Matra to complete the project.

Wange said that a Dornier delegation visited Taipei to discuss a possible extension of the contract in October as the company had failed to obtain the required export permit from the German government by a Sept. 30 deadline.

"We've learned that our client in Taiwan has contacted other firms, but this doesn't mean that the contract has been canceled. However, it's a sign that our client [NSC] is looking for alternatives if we cannot get the permit in a short period of time," said Wange.

He also said that Dornier has so far received no further information from the German government on when the export permit would be discussed. "I think that we are close to some critical decisions -- either from our government or from our client.

"However, the more days we have to wait, the less confident we are. We will not be surprised if our client cancels the contract, because they are getting impatient," said Wange.

The initial euphoria brought about by the successful launch of Taiwan's first satellite in January this year has faded because of the serious delays in the ongoing ROCSAT-2 project contracted out to Dornier.

They refused to confirm yesterday if another company would take over the project because "the ongoing preparation for possible [future] cooperation is confidential."

"However, we are confident that the goal set previously to launch Taiwan's second satellite in 2003 will not be affected by the delay," said NSC director Huang Chen-tai (¶ÀÂí¥x).

Huang said yesterday that the delays had been caused by China's interference.

"The Chinese government has protested, claiming that Taiwan would use the satellite's high resolution photo performance to carry out military surveillance missions instead of for its stated civilian purposes. This is the reason the German government is reluctant to issue the permit," said Huang.

However, Dornier officials insist this is the first time they have failed to obtain the necessary technology export permit and they say that the company has never received any pressure directly from the Chinese government.

Wange admitted that Dornier has had contacts with China for some years and currently had several ongoing cooperation projects in place there.

"However, there's no official talk on Taiwan's ROCSAT-2 program," he said.

The company, a subsidiary of the DaimlerChrysler Aerospace Group, signed a US$34 million contract to design and construct ROCSAT-2, a 600kg low-orbiting remote-monitoring satellite, for Taiwan's National Space Program Office (NSPO) under the NSC.

The NSC's Huang refused to confirm yesterday that French-based satellite-builder Matra Marconi Space (MMS) would be the most promising candidate for taking over the ROCSAT-2 project, although it was reported that a Matra delegation had visited the NSPO in Taipei last week.

It was reported that Matra has promised that it would not be a problem to obtain the required technology export permit from the French government.

The company, however, would not comment on the issue officially.
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