The Taiwan-US collaborative satellite program Formosat-7/COSMIC-2 will likely have one more ground station in Tahiti, which is being evaluated by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a National Space Organization (NSPO) official said yesterday.
The six-satellite constellation was launched into orbit atop a Space Exploration Technologies, commonly known as Space X, Falcon Heavy rocket from the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 25.
Designed as the successor to the Formosat-3 constellation, Formosat-7 is tasked with collecting meteorological and ionospheric data in areas within 50° of northern and southern latitudes, the NSPO said, adding that the data is to be published for users worldwide in January next year.
The agency said that while it was charged with operational systems development, as well as integration and testing of the satellites, the US was responsible for supplying three scientific payloads on each satellite and building ground stations outside of Taiwan.
In addition to ground stations in Taoyuan and Tainan, data collected by Formosat-7 are also received by ground stations in Darwin, Australia; the US’ Hawaii and Guam; Honduras; Kuwait; Cuiaba, Brazil; Maritius; and Ghana; NSPO Deputy Director-General Yu Shiann-jeng (余憲政) said.
The NOAA, the NSPO’s partner agency in the program, is considering building another ground station in Tahiti in the Southern Pacific, he said.
With more ground stations, the time needed to download satellite data, which takes from 20 to 30 minutes, would be further shortened, he added.
While China reportedly began building ground stations in Kiribati — one of two Pacific nations that severed ties with Taiwan last week — nearly two decades ago, Yu said it is less likely that Taiwan would develop similar facilities in the Pacific.
As Taiwan’s Formosat-2 and Formosat-5 constellations are in north-south orbits, their data can also be processed by ground stations near the north and south poles, he said.
Taiwan has only rented the use of ground stations in allied countries, not built any, he added.
It is challenging to build a ground station in the South Pacific, where land is limited, Yu said, adding that the satellites would only pass above stations in the region for limited periods of time without deliberate maneuvering.
In comparison, Formosat-7 satellites are to operate on obliquely horizontal orbits, so the US is deploying ground stations evenly across the designated region, he said.
After being launched into a 720km-high orbit, the six satellites would over 19 months gradually move into their designated orbits, with the first settling into orbit at an altitude of 550km, he added.
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