The cost of launching the ROCSAT-2 has increased substantially since the government switched launch companies in June. The change was because of US pressure over the transport of sensitive components to India from where the satellite was to be launched, according to a senior National Science Council official.
UN sanctions placed on India and Pakistan in response to their nuclear weapons tests in May 1998 bar them from receiving or having access to sensitive US hardware and technology.
Since the ROCSAT-2 satellite contains high-tech US-made components and was to be launched atop an Indian rocket, Washington refused to grant export licenses for the components, forcing Taiwan to either replace them or switch launchers, according to a report in the latest edition of the US-based Defense News magazine.
Taiwan eventually ditched India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and settled on a Taurus rocket built by US-based Orbital Sciences Corp to launch the 725km satellite, the report said.
David Chu, deputy director of the council's National Space Program Office, described the switch as "substantially more expensive for us."
Chu did not elaborate on how much will be added to the US$75 million price tag of the program. The launch date is set for late 2003. According to the council, the satellite is to observe the land and marine environments in and around Taiwan. The data will be used for civilian applications and not, as has been claimed by Chinese authorities, for military purposes, the council said.
The satellite is being built by France's Matra Marconi Space and will provide pictures of the earth from its 891km-high orbit throughout its five-year mission.
Taiwan plans to have three scientific and communications satellites in orbit by 2006, the council said. The first satellite, ROCSAT-1, was launched in 1999, while the third one is scheduled to be launched in February 2005.
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