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.
STRONG RELATIONSHIPS: China would not blockade Taiwan, because President Xi respects him, and Russia would not have invaded if he were president, he said Former US president and the Republican candidate in next month’s presidential election Donald Trump said he would impose additional tariffs on China if China were to “go into Taiwan,” the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported. “I would say: If you go into Taiwan, I’m sorry to do this, I’m going to tax you, at 150 percent to 200 percent,” Trump was quoted as saying in an interview with the WSJ published on Friday. Asked if he would use military force against a blockade on Taiwan by China, Trump said it would not come to that because Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) respected
The Taipei Department of Transportation discouraged YouBike 2.0E users from taking them on long-distance trips after a Taipei city councilor said that riders often use the new electric bike, YouBike 2.0E, to climb Yangmingshan (陽明山). Taipei earlier this year began offering the first 30 minutes of YouBike 2.0 rentals for free, with Taipei and New Taipei offering the YouBike 2.0E on Aug. 30 to encourage rider usage. For YouBike 2.0, the rate is NT$10 per 30 minutes within the first four hours, NT$20 per 30 minutes for five to eight hours and NT$40 per 30 minutes after eight hours. Meanwhile, for e-bikes,
RESOURCE RICH: Taiwan is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire and has up to 30 gigawatts of the potential energy, of which 10 gigawatts could be economically viable Academia Sinica and CPC Corp yesterday began drilling the nation’s first deep geothermal well in Yilan County’s Yuanshan Township (員山). The 4km-deep well is expected to take 18 months to complete and has an estimated investment of NT$337 million (US$10.54 million), Academia Sinica President James Liao (廖俊智) said. “While Taiwan has up to 30 gigawatts of potential deep geothermal energy, with an estimated 10 gigawatts being economically viable, only by digging wells can we determine the actual amount of commercially viable geothermal energy,” Liao said at the project’s opening ceremony. Data collected during and after the excavation process would be used for future
HACKERS’ MARKET: Chat logs about Taiwan and documents outlining ways to take over online accounts were leaked from a company that sells data from hacks Taiwanese cybersecurity specialists found 577 leaked documents which show that the Chinese Communist Party is engaging in “cognitive warfare” against Taiwan through cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns, a documentary released last month by Japanese public broadcaster NHK showed. The filmmakers behind Tracking China’s Leaked Documents said they spent six months visiting seven countries, including Taiwan, where they interviewed members of TeamT5, a malware research and cybersecurity firm, which found the leaked documents. TeamT5 said they discovered a string of mysterious URLs on the social media platform X, which they suspected could be accounts created by hackers or people who leaked data, which led