The nation’s second domestically developed satellite, Triton (獵風者), is slated to be launched in the second half of 2021 by French firm Arianespace at a base in French Guiana, the National Space Organization (NSPO) said on Friday.
Dubbed the “Wind Hunter,” the satellite will be tasked with gathering data about sea wind and working with the Formosat-7 constellation to advance the nation’s weather forecasting capacity, NSPO Deputy Director-General Yu Shiann-jen (余憲政) said.
The six-satellite Formosat-7 constellation — a Taiwan-US collaborative program — was launched by the US company SpaceX with other foreign satellites from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 25.
Photo provided by the National Space Organization
The nation’s first domestically developed satellite Formosat-5, a remote-sensing satellite, was also launched by SpaceX on Aug. 25, 2017 from the Vandenberg Air Space in California.
For the Triton launch, two companies — Arianespace and another foreign firm — competed for the bid, Yu said.
Most of Triton’s critical components and payload instruments were developed by Taiwanese personnel, with its ratio of indigenous development reaching 87 percent, 9 points higher than for Formosat-5, he said.
Its payload instrument — the Global Navigation Satellite System Reflectometry (GNSS-R) — as well as other critical components, such as the onboard computer, the power control unit, the GPS receiver and a fiber-optic gyro, were developed by NSPO personnel, Yu said.
The cubic satellite, measuring about 280kg, is equipped with a deployable solar panel on one side, according to Triton’s project description on the NSPO’s Web site.
It will be launched with other satellites from an orbit of 500km to 600km from the ground, with an inclination angle of no smaller than 24°, while the actual parameters should be confirmed along with other satellites, the NSPO said.
Some of the techniques used in developing Triton were an improvement on those used in Formosat-5, and they would be further advanced when developing the nation’s next satellite program, Formosat-8, a remote-sensing satellite, Yu said.
Additional reporting by CNA
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group