The nation's space program suffered a setback yesterday after a rocket carrying research equipment failed to enter earth orbit and plunged into the sea.
The rocket blasted off from the Chiupeng base in the southern Pingtung county at 2:19am, said Hsieh Ching-chih (謝清志), vice chairman of the National Science Council.
"But the second stage of the rocket failed to ignite after the fuel of the first stage burned out," he said. "The rocket flew to an altitude of some 15km" and then plummeted into the sea, Hsieh said
The launch had twice been postponed due to bad weather. The National Science Council, which formulates overall science policy, said it was looking into the cause of the failure.
The rocket was carrying payloads designed to study the physical activity of the atmosphere 100km above the earth, research that had rarely been attempted before, Hsieh said. The rocket was supposed to release trimethodine aluminium which would spark fires in the launch process allowing researchers on the ground to track its progress.
Hsieh, who headed up the nation's ROCSAT-3 Program Office before he assumed his present post last year, denied speculation that the program could be used for military purposes.
"This is purely a scientific research program," with payloads jointly designed by Taiwan's National Central University and Clemson University of South Carolina, he said.
The United Daily News said the Chungshan Institute for Science and Technology had been contracted by the council to develop the rocket at a cost of NT$50 million.
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