Taiwan could launch a domestically built rocket into space as soon as 2026, if the Legislative Yuan approves funding for the Siraya Rocket Plan project, National Space Organization (NSPO) Director-General Wu Jong-shinn (吳宗信) said.
Researchers would next year start work on the project, which was named after the indigenous Siraya people, Wu said on Friday.
If successful, it would be the first rocket to be designed, built and launched entirely in Taiwan — a milestone for the nation’s emerging space industry, he said.
Photo: Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei Times
The NSPO is next year to be reorganized into a legal entity, and renamed the Taiwan Space Agency (TASA), he said, adding that Siraya would be the agency’s first project.
“The project will allow us to test domestically designed and built components for the space industry,” he said.
Under the Space Development Act (太空發展法), the NSPO — and later, TASA — is responsible for construction of a national rocket launch site, he said.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Innovative Space Inc
The launch site in Syuhai Village (旭海) in Pingtung County’s Mudan Township (牡丹), which the NSPO has used in the past, is suitable for smaller launches, but not for large projects such as Siraya, he said.
A bigger site would be built in either Pingtung County or Taitung County, he said, adding that a selection committee would choose the site based on criteria drafted by the NSPO.
Some of the criteria include transportation options to the site, and whether there are people living within a 2km radius, he said.
“The Siraya rocket project will involve roughly three to four years of planning, which is significantly less time than South Korea’s Nuri rocket took,” he said. “Work started on Nuri in 2010, and it did not launch until October last year.”
Wu said he also expects Siraya to be cheaper than the Nuri project, which cost US$1.7 billion, including the spaceport.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
COVETED PRIZE: The US president would be a peace prize laureate should he persuade Xi Jinping to abandon military aggression against Taiwan, William Lai said US President Donald Trump should get the Nobel Peace Prize should he be able to convince Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to abandon the use of force against Taiwan, President William Lai (賴清德) told a conservative US radio show and podcast in an interview. The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer, despite the absence of formal ties, but since Trump took office earlier this year he has not announced any new arms sales to the nation. Trump could meet Xi at the APEC summit in South Korea on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Lai, speaking on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton
RSS