Following a media report saying Formosat-5 was transmitting fuzzy images, National Space Organization (NSPO) officials yesterday said they are recalibrating the satellite’s camera, but denied that it had experienced a system failure.
Formosat-5, the nation’s first domestically developed satellite, which cost about NT$5.65 billion (US$187.5 million), was launched on Aug. 25 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. It was scheduled to start sending images to the NSPO by Sept. 8.
A report published yesterday by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) said the imaging capability of Formosat-5 might be compromised after the first set of images it sent back on Sept. 7 were blurry, with some showing stripes and light spots.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The report also said the agency had detected the problem before the satellite’s launch, but failed to calibrate its CMOS chips.
The agency acknowledged that the images were not satisfactory.
The images appear to have only 8m resolution while the satellite should have provided color images down to 4m, National Applied Research Laboratories vice president and NSPO Acting Director-General Wu Kuang-chung (吳光鐘) said.
The focus problem is not caused by any defect in the satellite’s CMOS, Wu said.
One possible cause is vibrations during the satellite’s delivery or launch, but a more in-depth investigation is needed to reach a conclusion, he said, adding that the agency hopes to solve the problem in two or three months.
“NSPO did not observe any similar problems when it tested the satellite on land,” NSPO Deputy Director-General Yu Shiann-jen (余憲政) said.
The agency plans to modify the satellite’s focal length either by adjusting its internal temperature, altering its orbit altitude or improving resolution through image deconvolution software, Yu said, adding that changing its altitude would be riskier.
“We have to confirm whether the focal length is extended or shortened before deciding on which solution to adopt,” Yu said, declining reporters’ requests to provide a worst-case scenario if recalibration fails.
The remote sensing function is the last test of Formosat-5, while all other scientific payloads are functioning normally, Yu said.
“As I have always maintained, the real test of a satellite begins only after it is launched into space,” NSPO Formosat-5 project director Chang Ho-pen (張和本) said, reaffirming that previous tests were smooth.
Asked why the agency could not fix the problem one week after it was found, Chang said the satellite’s heating and cooling takes many steps.
The nation’s next satellite, Formosat-7, is scheduled to be launched next year.
The project is a collaboration between Taiwan and the US.
The problem of Formosat-5 will not affect the Formosat-7 project, which is tasked with a different mission — to gather space weather data, Yu said.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College