The National Space Organization (NSPO) yesterday said that it has developed the nation’s first cross-platform satellite operation control system, which is used to control the Formosat-7/COSMIC2 constellation and would save nearly NT$500 million (US$17.02 million) on project development.
The system was trialed on Formosat-5, a remote sensing satellite launched in 2017, and later used to control the Formosat-7 constellation, National Applied Research Laboratories (NARL) president Wu Kuang-chong (吳光鐘) told a news conference at the NSPO in Hsinchu.
A Taiwan-US collaboration, the six-satellite Formosat-7, which conducts weather observations, was launched on SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy in June last year.
Photo: CNA
Four of the Formosat-7 satellites have moved from their 720km deployment orbit to 550km mission orbits on separate planes, while the other two would move to their mission orbits by February next year, the NSPO said.
The system has helped the NSPO contact the Formosat-7 satellites more than 30,000 times, over which it downloaded more than 2 million data packages, Wu said.
The system marks another leap in Taiwan’s space tech development, as the nation used to purchase satellite software from foreign suppliers, he said.
Photo: CNA
The system over the past 14 months has proved it is comparable to similar products from foreign suppliers, NSPO associate research fellow Chen Kun-lin (陳坤林) said.
Built for NT$60 million after work began in 2009, the system saves on software development and maintenance costs that were previously outsourced, Chen said.
Development and maintenance costs for the Formosat-3/COSMIC constellation and the Formosat-5 were NT$150 million and NT$170 million respectively, he said.
As the system can be adapted for other missions, the NSPO would save nearly NT$500 million in development costs for its Triton, Formosat-8, Formosat-9 and Formosat-10 constellations, which are part of the nation’s third space technology development program running through 2028, he said.
In developing the system, the NSPO engaged private businesses, such as CTCI Advanced Systems Inc and Syscom Computer Engineering Co, he said.
Given that it is indigenously developed, the system allows for greater Taiwan-made flexibility and information security protection, Chen said.
The NSPO hopes that the system would provide commercial services, but it needs to formulate the specifications before making such products, he said.
After its satellites are fully deployed, Formosat-7 is expected to deliver 4,000 data packages per day covering the 50° north latitude to the 50° south latitude, the NSPO said.
The data would be received by stations in Taoyuan and Tainan; Darwin, Australia; Hawaii and Guam; Honduras; Kuwait; Cuiaba, Brazil; Mauritius; and Ghana, it said.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
BETTER SERVICE QUALITY: From Nov. 10, tickets with reserved seats would only be valid for the date, train and route specified on the ticket, THSRC said Starting on Nov. 10, high-speed rail passengers with reserved seats would be required to exchange their tickets to board an earlier train. Passengers with reserved seats on a specific train are currently allowed to board earlier trains on the same day and sit in non-reserved cars, but as this is happening increasingly often, and affecting quality of travel and ticket sales, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) announced that it would be canceling the policy on Nov. 10. It is one of several new measures launched by THSRC chairman Shih Che (史哲) to improve the quality of service, it said. The company also said
RSS