A ground control center for an advanced particle physics detector that was sent into space last year to gather data about the origin of the universe will be inaugurated in Taiwan tomorrow, a military researcher said yesterday.
“It will be the world’s second and Asia’s first ground control facility for the space device, known in academic circles as the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-02 [AMS-02],” said Jinchi Hao (荊溪暠), a project director at the military-run Chung-shan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST).
The state-of-the-art detector, which was designed and built by elite scientists from 16 countries including Taiwan, was taken to the International Space Station in May last year by the US space shuttle Endeavour on its final flight. It is designed mainly to detect charged particles in cosmic rays to find anti-matter, dark matter and missing matter in the hope of answering questions about the “big bang” and the formation of the universe, Jinchi said.
Photo: CNA
“To date, the detector has transmitted 18 billion pieces of data back to the project’s headquarters at the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Geneva,” Jinchi said, adding that the data could hold the key to revealing the origin of the universe.
Currently, experts at the Geneva station are working in shifts around the clock, with the US’ NASA Space Center in Houston providing backup support. To reduce the Geneva staff’s workload and allow even more comprehensive monitoring, project leader Samuel Ting (丁肇中) proposed the establishment of a similar ground station in Asia, to be dubbed “Payload Operations Control Center.” Ting is an Academia Sinica researcher and Nobel laureate in physics.
Other countries expressed strong interest in hosting the new facility because it would allow them to play a more important role in the joint project and facilitate bilateral or multilateral technological exchanges, Jinchi said. However, Taiwan was ultimately selected because it has been participating in the project for more than 10 years and has won much acclaim for its contributions in developing the device’s electronics system — which plays a crucial role in the project — he added.
“The establishment of the center is a new milestone in our participation in international space research programs,” Jinchi said.
The new payload control center will be located in the CSIST’s Lungyuan Research Park in Lungtan Township (龍潭), Taoyuan County. Initially, the center will not be able to communicate directly with the International Space Station, Jinchi said.
“But we expect to gain direct access to the space station soon, with NASA’s authorization,” he said.
NASA personnel have said the facility is comparable to the one in Geneva, said Yeh Fen (葉芬), a manager at the park’s innovation incubating center who is responsible for establishing the AMS-02 ground control station. The center has passed various tests by NASA inspectors, including Internet connectivity and information security checks, he said.
The payload control center, about the size of an average classroom, will be staffed by 12 scientists who will monitor the AMS-02’s “health” in real time via computers, Yeh added. Initially, they will work shifts from 6am to 2pm while the Geneva staff will take the remaining shifts. In the long term, the Taiwanese center will expand its capacity to accommodate three work shifts in case of any emergencies at the Geneva center Yeh said.
The AMS-02 project, launched by the US Department of Energy in 1999 in collaboration with 15 other countries, is scheduled to run for 15 years. CSIST officials said technologies used in the AMS-02 construction can be applied to the development of missiles, other weapons systems and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Meanwhile, the institute’s outstanding contribution to the detector’s electronics system has drawn the attention of other participating countries, some of which have initiated proposals for technological collaboration, the officials said. For instance, an Italian research institute is interested in working with the CSIST to develop a solar panel control system, they added.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)