The National Space Organization (NSPO) touted yesterday the recent launch of the nation’s latest rocket as a success, describing it as a major breakthrough in Taiwan’s space exploration efforts.
Sounding Rocket VII was launched at 7:50pm last Wednesday from the Jiupeng (九鵬) military base in Pingtung County after a string of delays since its original planned launch date of November 2008.
During its eight-minute-plus mission, the rocket was able to retrieve valuable information on changes in the ionosphere over Taiwan, as well as the structure and production mechanism of plasma irregularities in the ionosphere.
The data, NSPO Systems Engineering Director Chen Yen-sen (陳彥升) said, will be crucial for improving Taiwan’s global positioning system (GPS) and telecommunication infrastructures such as digital television and cellphone reception.
One of Sounding Rocket VII’s most notable breakthroughs is its ability to carry the largest payload ever in Taiwan’s space program.
The payload for last week’s flight included a retarding potential analyzer, a Langmuir probe, a GPS system and two ion traps.
Moreover, this was also the first time that such a rocket has been able to simultaneously conduct scientific experiments with Formosat-3, a satellite operated under Taiwan-US collaboration, to measure plasma density and ion irregularities in the ionosphere.
The rocket also made a record flight altitude of 287km into space, Chen said, who added that it was the first time that high school students had been invited to participate in the project.
He described the ultimate goal of Taiwan’s rocket program as being aimed at enhancing the country’s self-reliance in terms of its space exploration program, such as launching its own satellite, possibly in three to four years based on current abilities.
Meanwhile, Chu Yen-hsyang (朱延祥), a professor at National Central University’s Graduate Institute of Space Science, said the cost of the Sounding Rocket VII project, including the construction of the actual rocket, was more than NT$70 million (US$2.21 million).
“It was definitely money well spent. This mission furthered our understanding of space above Taiwan and helped us understand what we can do to overcome future telecommunications-related disturbances,” he said.
National Central University, the NSPO and the Chung-shan Institute of Science and Technology collaborated on the project.
Taiwan launched six rockets between 1998 and 2007.
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