The setup of a site for launching sounding rockets, of those for scientific use, has been approved by Aboriginal residents of a village in Pingtung County, the Ministry of Science and Technology said on Monday.
The site is temporary while the ministry seeks another property where it could establish a permanent launch site for commercial use.
It marks another milestone since the promulgation of the Space Development Act (太空發展法) in June, and signals a first step as the nation sets in place the infrastructure needed to develop space technologies, the ministry said in a news release.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Science and Technology
A community conference held on Monday by residents of Syuhai Village (旭海) in the county’s Mudan Township (牡丹) approved the use of the launch site with 85 of 112 households in favor — more than half, it said.
The meeting had been scheduled in May, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ministry added.
The ministry is accepting applications from scientific teams that could use the site to test their sounding rockets, it said.
The National Space Organization (NSPO) is to share profits generated by the launch site in a bid to promote technological development while protecting Aboriginal rights, the ministry said.
The agency would consider the number of launches, the level of launch noise and vibration, and other factors in deciding subsidies for local residents, NSPO Deputy Director-General and spokeswoman Vicky Chu (朱崇惠) said, without specifying the feedback fund.
Since a meeting with Syuhai residents on April 22, the NSPO had sent an agency official to facilitate communication with the village every week, except for during a COVID-19 alert from May to July, she said.
No development would be conducted at the site, which measures 0.97 hectares, Chu said.
At least two scientific teams are waiting to use the site.
Researchers had been using the site to test rockets until launching tests by local company Taiwan Innovative Space at another site in Taitung County from late 2019 to early last year sparked a legal controversy and prompted the ministry to establish a site via legislation.
National Cheng Kung University chair professor Chao Yei-chin (趙怡欽) said his NSPO-commissioned project, an advanced hybrid system for sounding rockets, has been postponed for more than one year.
Chao’s rocket features a two-stage design and a function to jettison payload fairings, and is expected to reach an apogee of 80km or more, the NSPO’s Web site shows.
Chao said that he would prepare the documents needed to apply to use the site, while his team prepares a mobile launch pad, as the ministry does not offer such equipment.
National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University’s (NYCU) Advanced Rocket Research Center (ARRC) is also waiting to use the site.
Its ministry-funded project, the launch of an HTTP-3A rocket, has also been postponed for one year, ARRC Deputy Director Wei Shih-sin (魏世昕) said, adding that the project was led by NSPO Director-General Wu Jong-shinn (吳宗信) when Wu taught at NYCU.
Despite the delay, it is a positive development that the ministry is now providing guidelines to follow when testing sounding rockets, Wei said.
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