Taiwan is seeking to work with Germany and France on space technology, the National Science and Technology Council said on Tuesday.
A delegation to Europe, led by National Science and Technology Council Minister Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠), has met with aerospace leaders in France and Germany to discuss the latest developments in the field and the countries’ priorities, the council said in a statement.
Wu talked with German Aerospace Center CEO Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla about the possibility of tapping into Taiwan’s semiconductor industry to develop satellite components, it said.
Wu said that Taiwan’s space industry is working to develop high-resolution remote sensing satellites and low Earth orbit communication satellites, among other craft.
The delegation, which arrived in Europe on Tuesday last week and returns tomorrow, also visited France-based Arianespace, the world’s first commercial launch service provider, to check on the progress of launch preparations for Taiwan’s first indigenous weather satellite, Triton, the council said.
It is in the testing stage ahead of its planned launch on March 10 next year, on a Vega C rocket built by Arianespace at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana, it said.
Also called “Wind Hunter” (獵風者) in Chinese, Triton would primarily be used for sea surface observation, which is expected to boost Taiwan’s weather and climate forecasting capabilities, it said.
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