A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket blasted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, putting the Formosat-7 satellite constellation, alongside other experimental satellites, into orbit. The craft lifted off to cheers from onlookers at 2:30am local time after a three-hour delay from the original launch time late Monday. President Tsai Ing-wen, who watched the launch live at Taiwan’s National Space Organization (NSPO) in Hsinchu, lauded the launch as a milestone for Taiwan space technology.
The boosters separated safely as the craft began its six-hour mission to deploy the satellites. The two side booster rockets returned safely to Earth, descending onto adjacent US Air Force landing pads, but the rocket’s center booster missed its mark, crashing in the Atlantic Ocean. SpaceX has landed and used many of its booster rockets more than once, touting their reusability as an effective way to cut the costs of future space travel.
Tsai said the launch of the Formosat-5 in 2017 proved to the world that Taiwan has independent space research and development capability, and with the launch of Formosat-7, the country now shines bright on the international stage. Formosat-5, another earth observation satellite operated by the NSPO, was launched on Aug. 24, 2017 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Photo: Reuters
照片:路透
Formosat-7 is the largest cooperative project between Taiwan and the US, Tsai said, adding that the satellite will undertake meteorological observations free from the restrictions of geography or weather, enabling Taiwan to obtain more accurate meteorological data. The collected data, she said, can be shared with other nations for the benefit of mankind as a whole.
Formosat-7 will replace Formosat-3, the first Taiwan-US collaborative space program, with state-of-the-art instruments and equipment that collect meteorological, ionospheric and climate data. Jointly developed by the NSPO and the US’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the new satellite platform will deploy six satellites into low inclination orbits to provide low and mid-latitude ionosphere data.
According to the NSPO, 91 minutes into the launch, Formosat-7 detached from the rocket, and all six satellite units successfully connected to a satellite signal station in Taiwan at about 9pm, Taipei time, when a news conference was held to announce the development.
Photo: Reuters
照片:路透
Formosat-7 and the soon-to-be-decommissioned Formosat-3 are the world’s only two satellite constellations that use the radio occultation technique for observation. The technique enables the satellites to collect data of temperature, atmospheric pressure and water vapor every 100m up to an altitude of 60km above the Earth’s surface. First used in 1965 to measure the atmosphere of Mars, radio occultation relies on the detection of changes in the electromagnetic radiation signal as it passes through the Earth’s atmosphere and becomes refracted. By analyzing the magnitude of the refraction and comparing it with the gradient of refractivity normal to the path, scientists are able to deduce the atmosphere’s temperature, pressure, water vapor content and electron density.
Launched two years ago, Formosat-5 is Taiwan’s first domestically developed satellite equipped with optical remote sensing instruments. The satellite operates in a sun synchronous orbit at 720km altitude and passes over the same location on the Earth on the same time every other day. Since it went into operation, Formosat-5 has taken many high-resolution satellite images, and is also used to monitor changes in plasma turbulence. The satellite has successfully detected anomalies occurring in the ionospheric prior to earthquakes, and it is expected to keep watch for the warning signs for earthquakes. The Formosat-7 mainly targets collecting atmospheric data in low and medium latitudes, which requires a lower operational orbit at a height of about 550km. It will take 19 months for the six satellites to finish deployment in the orbital plane, but the constellation will be able to receive data during the period.
(CNA, with additional reporting by Reuters and staff writer)
美國「太空探索科技公司」建造的獵鷹重型火箭,週二在佛羅里達州的甘迺迪太空中心順利點火發射,將福爾摩沙衛星七號衛星群在內的多顆實驗衛星送入地球軌道。距原定發射時間延遲三小時後,火箭於當地時間凌晨兩點半發射升空,在圍觀群眾的歡呼聲中離開地球表面。總統蔡英文前往新竹的台灣國家太空中心觀看實況轉播後,稱讚這次發射是台灣太空科技的里程碑。
火箭隨後和推進器安全分離,展開六個小時的部署衛星任務。兩側的推進器隨後順利返回地球,降落在鄰近的美國空軍海上平台,不過火箭的主推進器卻偏離目標,爆炸後墜入大西洋。「太空探索科技公司」先前已成功降落多具推進器,並且重複使用。該公司以此為傲,表示這些推進器能夠重複使用的特性,可以有效降低未來太空旅行的成本。
蔡總統表示,二○一七年福爾摩沙衛星五號發射升空,已經向世界證明台灣具備自主太空科技研發能力,隨著這次「福衛七號」發射升空,更見證台灣在世界舞台上發光發熱。「福衛五號」是國家太空中心運作的另一顆地球觀測衛星,在二○一七年八月二十四日從美國加州的范登堡空軍基地發射升空。
蔡總統指出,「福衛七號」是台灣和美國有史以來最大型的科學合作計畫,她也補充表示,這組衛星未來進行的氣象觀測將不會受地理或天氣條件限制,讓台灣可以獲得更準確的氣象資料。蔡總統說,「福衛七號」收集到的資料將會分享給其他國家,為全人類的福祉盡一份心力。
「福衛七號」配有最先進的儀器與設備,能夠收集氣象、電離層和氣候資料,將取代台美兩國第一次太空合作計畫研發的「福衛三號」。新的衛星平台是由台灣國家太空中心與美國國家海洋暨大氣總署共同研發,將在傾角較低的衛星軌道上部署六顆衛星,以提供中低緯度的電離層資料。
根據國家太空中心表示,「福衛七號」在發射後九十一分鐘脫離承載火箭,六顆衛星也在台北時間晚上九點左右,在國家太空中心舉行通聯記者會的同時,全數和台灣的訊號接收站成功進行通聯。
「福衛七號」和即將退役的「福衛三號」是目前全世界唯二利用「掩星技術」進行觀測的衛星群,可以蒐集地面到六十公里高空之間每一百公尺的溫度、氣壓和水氣資料。「掩星技術」最初在一九六五年用於量測火星的大氣層,仰賴衛星偵測電磁輻射訊號的變化,也就是觀測電磁波通過地球大氣層時發生的偏折角度。藉由分析折射強度,並且與訊號路徑上正常的折射傾斜度進行比較,科學家就能反推出大氣層中的溫度、氣壓、水氣或電子密度等數據。
兩年前發射的「福衛五號」,是台灣第一顆自主研發、配備光學遙測儀器的人造衛星。該衛星在七百二十公里的高空上與太陽同步運行,每隔一天就會在相同的時間經過地球同一地點的上空。自從運行開始後,「福衛五號」已拍攝到許多高解析度的衛星影像,也被用來觀測電漿擾動變化,並且成功偵測到電離層在地震發生前的異動現象,將來可望監測地震前兆。「福衛七號」目標則是搜集分布在中低緯度的大氣資料,運行軌道較低,離地約為五百五十公里,全數六顆衛星需時十九個月才能於軌道面上布建完成,不過部署期間仍可接收所需的資料。
(台北時報章厚明編譯)
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