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.
Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Taoyuan would issue a decision at 8pm on whether to cancel work and school tomorrow due to forecasted heavy rain, Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said today. Hsieh told reporters that absent some pressing reason, the four northern cities would announce the decision jointly at 8pm. Keelung is expected to receive between 300mm and 490mm of rain in the period from 2pm today through 2pm tomorrow, Central Weather Administration data showed. Keelung City Government regulations stipulate that school and work can be canceled if rain totals in mountainous or low-elevation areas are forecast to exceed 350mm in
EVA Airways president Sun Chia-ming (孫嘉明) and other senior executives yesterday bowed in apology over the death of a flight attendant, saying the company has begun improving its health-reporting, review and work coordination mechanisms. “We promise to handle this matter with the utmost responsibility to ensure safer and healthier working conditions for all EVA Air employees,” Sun said. The flight attendant, a woman surnamed Sun (孫), died on Friday last week of undisclosed causes shortly after returning from a work assignment in Milan, Italy, the airline said. Chinese-language media reported that the woman fell ill working on a Taipei-to-Milan flight on Sept. 22
COUNTERMEASURE: Taiwan was to implement controls for 47 tech products bound for South Africa after the latter downgraded and renamed Taipei’s ‘de facto’ offices The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is still reviewing a new agreement proposed by the South African government last month to regulate the status of reciprocal representative offices, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. Asked about the latest developments in a year-long controversy over Taiwan’s de facto representative office in South Africa, Lin during a legislative session said that the ministry was consulting with legal experts on the proposed new agreement. While the new proposal offers Taiwan greater flexibility, the ministry does not find it acceptable, Lin said without elaborating. The ministry is still open to resuming retaliatory measures against South
1.4nm WAFERS: While TSMC is gearing up to expand its overseas production, it would also continue to invest in Taiwan, company chairman and CEO C.C. Wei said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) has applied for permission to construct a new plant in the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區), which it would use for the production of new high-speed wafers, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council, which supervises three major science parks in Taiwan, confirmed that the Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau had received an application on Friday from TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, to commence work on the new A14 fab. A14 technology, a 1.4 nanometer (nm) process, is designed to drive artificial intelligence transformation by enabling faster computing and greater power
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