AEROSPACE
CubeSat enters phase 2
The Taiwan Space Agency on Wednesday announced that it has entered the second phase of a 10-year project to support the domestic development and launch of miniaturized satellites known as “CubeSats.” The program’s three-stage second phase, expected to last nine years, would involve building “6U” satellites, using the industry-standard scale where “1U” refers to the most basic CubeSat construction, the agency said. The first stage of the second phase would see the production and launch of 12 CubeSats each for remote sensing, communications and the Internet of Things, it said. The agency began accepting bids to build the three 6U satellite types on Thursday last week, it said, adding that each winning proposal would receive NT$145 million (US$4.56 million). Given the simple construction and low cost of lightweight CubeSats, the agency said it would be a suitable undertaking for space start-ups, particularly for low-volume manufacturers. The project aims to enhance the ability of Taiwan’s space industry to design and build satellites so that the country could play a more significant role in the global supply chain, the agency said.
MILITARY
Missing officer’s body found
An air force master sergeant who was reported missing while on a fishing trip has been confirmed dead, with his body recovered on Thursday afternoon in waters off Green Island (綠島) where he was stationed. The last known location of the master sergeant, surnamed Chang (張), 47, was a spot on Green Island known as Fanchuanbi (帆船鼻), where he reportedly went fishing, the Coast Guard Administration’s Eastern Branch said, citing a report filed by the air force after Chang failed to report for duty on Thursday morning. The air force last contacted Chang at 9pm on Wednesday and had been unable to reach him since, information provided to the coast guard said. The Coast Guard 13th Patrol Command on Thursday morning deployed Black Hawk helicopters and patrol boats to search for Chang, but found only his fishing equipment on the shore. The air force said in a statement later that day that it received a report from a local snorkeling tour operator at 1:18pm indicating that Chang’s body had been found, without providing further details. Chang’s body has been handed over to the police and an autopsy would be conducted to determine the cause of death. In the statement, the air force expressed regret over the “tragedy” and said it would provide the officer’s family with all necessary assistance in accordance with established procedure.
SOCIETY
Beef noodle contest opens
Taipei on Thursday announced the beginning of registration for the city’s annual beef noodle soup competition. Registration is to continue until Sept. 15, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) told a news conference. Since its inception in 2005, the competition has flourished, highlighting the popularity of beef noodle soup across the nation, the Taipei Office of Commerce said. This year, the competition is divided into two separate categories: “Fresh Food,” with options such as red-braised, stewed and creative style beef noodles, and “Prepared Flavoring Packages” with red-braised and stewed variations, the Taipei Beef Noodle Interflow Development Association said. Gold, silver and bronze medals are to be awarded in the fresh food category, and a top 10 would be selected for the prepared flavoring package category, it said. The event is to run from Oct. 7 to 9 at Taipei Expo Park.
An essay competition jointly organized by a local writing society and a publisher affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) might have contravened the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. “In this case, the partner organization is clearly an agency under the CCP’s Fujian Provincial Committee,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “It also involves bringing Taiwanese students to China with all-expenses-paid arrangements to attend award ceremonies and camps,” Liang said. Those two “characteristics” are typically sufficient
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
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