The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) yesterday announced that it has selected Jiupeng Village (九棚) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州) as the location for the nation's national space mission launch site.
The decision was the result of a comprehensive review conducted by an inter-agency panel, which evaluated environmental conditions, launch conditions, development execution and potential for further development, the Cabinet-level agency said in a news release.
The site was chosen due to its advantages in terms of land acquisition, size, usability and lack of environmentally sensitive areas, the council said.
Photo: courtesy of the Pingtung County Government
Both Jiupeng Village in Pingtung and Liubetj indigenous village in Taitung County’s Dajen Township (達仁) met the basic criteria for space technology development, but the Pingtung site had clearer advantages, the NSTC said.
NSTC officials said that the National Launch Site would help promote the nation’s space industry and be integrated with local efforts to boost technology, education and tourism, such as the construction of a space-themed museum.
Pingtung County Commissioner Chou Chun-mi (周春迷) said on Facebook that the decision was “exciting.”
“The space industry is ready to take off in Pingtung,” she said.
The next steps include more detailed planning and environmental evaluations, with the project expected to be completed by 2030 or 2031 at the earliest, the NSTC said.
The Taiwan Space Agency, which operates under the NSTC, was established in 2023 following the restructuring of the National Space Organization, the agency's Web site said.
The space agency already operates a Sounding Rocket Launch Site in Pingtung County’s Mudan Township (牡丹), where rocket research test flights have been conducted since 2022, the agency’s Web site says.
The agency focuses on “enhancing the Taiwan space technology research and development capabilities, implementing national space policies and plans, and promoting Taiwan space activities and the development of the space industry,” it says.
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