The Formosat-7/COSMIC-2 satellite constellation would bolster national security by collecting more weather data, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday as she inspected the Ministry of Science and Technology’s preparations for the next launch.
The Formosat-7 constellation, the biggest Taiwanese-US collaboration, is designed to collect more weather data for national defense and disease prevention purposes, Tsai said while visiting the National Space Organization (NSPO) at the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區).
The nation demonstrated its ability to develop space technology when Formosat-5 — Taiwan’s first domestically developed remote sensing satellite — was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Aug. 25, 2017, she said, adding that the government would continue to support space technology development to make Taiwan an indispensable part of the global supply chain.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
After inspecting the organization’s integration and testing facilities, Tsai presented the constellation’s certification of flight readiness to NSPO Director-General Lin Chun-liang (林俊良).
The successor to the Formosat-3 constellation, dubbed “the world’s most precise thermometer in space,” the Formosat-7 constellation is expected to collect three to four times more data than its predecessor, Lin said.
It would be transported to the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida by China Airlines cargo aircraft and launched on a Space Exploration Technologies Falcon Heavy launch vehicle, he said, but added that the agency is still waiting for the US to set a launch date.
Formosat-7’s six mission satellites were manufactured by the Surrey Satellite Technology in England, a unit of Airbus Defense and Space, and are each equipped with three US-made instruments: the Tri-GNSS Radio Occultation System, an ion velocity meter and a radio frequency beacon, Lin said.
A seventh satellite, the Formosat-7R, also named Triton or “wind hunter,” was developed by the NSPO and would be launched next year at the earliest, NSPO Deputy Director-General Yu Shiann-jen (余憲政) said, adding that the agency would open an international tender for its launch.
Developing key satellite components is crucial to the nation’s third space program, which runs from this year until 2028, when it plans to launch six pilot high-resolution remote sensing satellites, two ultra-high-resolution remote sensing satellites and two synthetic aperture radar satellites, Minister of Science and Technology Chen Liang-gee (陳良基) said.
The program’s first remote sensing satellite is expected to be launched in 2021, Chen said.
In addition to the NSPO, academic and industrial resources would be involved in the program when necessary, he said, adding that many academics are keen to work on space exploration projects.
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
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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