Inclement weather yesterday prevented the launch of the HAPITH-1, the nation’s first domestically built rocket, from a launchpad in Taitung County’s Nantian Village (南田).
Many rocket enthusiasts had gathered in the village to watch the launch between 6am and 7am, said its developer, Taiwan Innovative Space Inc (TiSPACE).
The rocket was expected to reach an altitude of 250km, breaking the world record of 120km for rockets with a hybrid-propellant engine, TiSPACE said.
Photo: CNA
However, it continued to rain after 6am, the company said, adding that on-site engineers used balloons to gauge wind speed and direction every 15 minutes, but neither proved satisfactory.
While the company started the rocket’s engine at 6:56am, it was not able to push through with the planned launch.
TiSPACE president Chen Yen-sen (陳彥升) said later yesterday that it had rained throughout the night before the test launch and the wind shear was too strong.
Photo: CNA
Despite the aborted launch, the company was able to obtain useful data that it can use to fine-tune calibrations and settings, Chen said.
The road to development for aerospace companies is fraught with difficulties, but the company will continue to persevere in hopes of achieving the capability to launch satellites from Taiwan, he said.
“I saw the crowd that came out to view the test launch and I am aware of their expectations,” Chen said, adding that the company has scheduled another launch in one and a half or two months from now.
Nantian Village Warden Kao Fu-yuan (高富源) said that the local government was supportive of the launch, and it was regrettable that it had to be canceled because of inclement weather.
The HAPITH-1 was originally scheduled to launch on Dec. 27 last year, but it was postponed due to controversy over land use and the rights of Paiwan Aboriginal residents over it.
To encourage the development of the domestic space industry, the Ministry of Science and Technology on Jan. 14 convened a meeting of concerned parties to help find a solution, while asking the company to complete required procedures, it said in a statement on Tuesday.
While the National Space Organization (NSPO) said it had commissioned TiSPACE to build and launch a rocket, it did not require the company to build a launch site, as the company could consider renting existing launch sites or temporarily building a launchpad, the National Applied Research Laboratories, which oversees the NSPO, said in separate statement on Tuesday.
Officials hope the company would succeed in its mission, which would fill a missing piece in the nation’s space technology development, but they do not want to get involved in the company’s problems, a source familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity.
The Taitung County Government said in a press release yesterday that TiSPACE did not file the required application before building the launchpad on a private property, which is Aboriginal domain, and has been fined NT$400,000.
The company is required to demolish the launch site or apply to legally alter its land use, it added.
Additional reporting by Lin Chia-nan
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS