The Formosat-7/COSMIC-2 satellite constellation was yesterday sent to Taoyuan International Airport to be forwarded via diplomatic pouch to the US today, while President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said it would be launched on June 22.
Tsai made the announcement at a ceremony held by the Ministry of Science and Technology at the National Space Organization (NSPO) at the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區).
The constellation is the biggest-ever collaborative program between Taiwan and the US, Tsai said.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Its launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket would be more good news following the revelation on Wednesday of the first image of a black hole by an international group of scientists, including Academia Sinica researchers, she said.
Taiwan plays a vital role in international space programs and has an important role in the Indo-Pacific region, she said, expressing hope that the nation would be safe and its people are proud of being Taiwanese.
The constellation comprises six satellites and is designed to take over the mission of collecting weather data from the Formosat-3/COSMIC constellation, Minister of Science and Technology Chen Liang-gee (陳良基) said.
Photo: Chien Hui-ju, Taipei Times
Formosat-7 is expected to collect three or four times more data than its predecessor, which would improve weather forecasts and disaster prevention efforts, he said.
Each satellite is equipped with three important scientific payloads, the Tri-GNSS Radio Occultation System, an ion velocity meter and a radio frequency beacon, which would be managed by the US Air Force, the NSPO said.
Taiwan and the US each spent about NT$3.2 billion (US$103.6 million at the current exchange rate) on the program, sharing the total cost, NSPO Director-General Lin Chun-liang (林俊良) said.
The constellation would be sent to the US via diplomatic pouch, meaning that it would receive more courteous treatment and skip some inspection steps, Lin said.
After arriving at Miami International Airport, it is scheduled to reach the Kennedy Space Center at 6am tomorrow, he said.
Three hours after launch, the NSPO would know whether the constellation operates normally by examining the data it transmits through a signal reception station in Darwin, Australia, Lin said.
The launch has been postponed several times.
The constellation was to originally comprise of two groups of six satellites, but the development of the second group was canceled in October 2017 due to budget concerns in the US.
Changing policies and technical negotiations were the most challenging parts of the development process, said Formosat-7 project head Chu Chung-hui (朱崇惠), the NSPO’s first female project head, but added that space programs usually take a long time to come to fruition.
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
China on Wednesday teased in a video an aircraft carrier that could be its fourth, and the first using nuclear power, while making an allusion to Taiwan and vowing to further build up its islands, as it looks to boost maritime power, secure resources and bolster territorial claims. The video, issued on the eve of the 77th founding anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, featured fictional officers with names that are homophones of three commissioned aircraft carriers, the Liaoning (遼寧), Shandong (山東) and Fujian (福建). Titled Into the Deep, it showed a 19-year-old named “Hejian” (何劍) joining the group, sparking
BIG YEAR: The company said it would also release its A12 chip the same year to keep a ‘reliable stream of new silicon technologies’ flowing to its customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said its newest A13 chip is to enter volume production in 2029 as the chipmaker seeks to hold onto its tech leadership and demand for next-generation chips used in artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance-computing (HPC) and mobile applications. TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, also unveiled its A12 chip at its annual technology symposium in Santa Clara, California. The A12 chip, which features TSMC’s super-power-rail technology to provide backside power delivery for AI and HPC applications, is also to enter volume production in 2029, a year after the scheduled release of the A14 chip. The technology moves
ESWATINI TRIP: The ‘irresponsible actions’ of three African nations set a dangerous precedent and they should be held accountable, a US representative said The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday urged Washington not to normalize Chinese pressure, while a US lawmaker called on the US government to hold countries accountable for yielding to Beijing’s pressure to block President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned trip to Eswatini. Lai had been scheduled to visit Eswatini to attend birthday events for King Mswati III of Eswatini this week, but on Tuesday, the eve of his planned departure on Wednesday, the Presidential Office said the trip was “suspended” after the Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar unexpectedly withdrew overflight permission. “China reportedly pressured Mauritius, Seychelles, and Madagascar to deny airspace access
RSS