Formosat-8, Taiwan’s first domestically made remote-sensing satellite cluster system, would greatly enhance capabilities in handling disaster relief and national security incidents with its enhanced resolution, the Taiwan Space Agency said yesterday.
The first satellite of the system, which is named “Chi Po-Lin Satellite (齊柏林衛星)” after the deceased Taiwanese aerial photographer, has been delivered to the US for a scheduled launch this month.
Formosat-8 consists of a constellation of eight optical remote sensing satellites, including six satellites with a native resolution of 1m and two with native resolution of smaller than 1m. They would be deployed in a sun-synchronous orbit approximately 561km above the Earth’s surface, with full deployment expected by 2031.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Space Agency
The first satellite of the constellation can achieve a native ground resolution of 1m, Formosat-8 project manager Cynthia Liu (劉小菁) said, adding that the resolution could reach 0.7m after post-processing.
The resolution of other satellites in the system would gradually reach 0.5m, better than the 2m of the Formosat-5 system, Liu said.
“With Formosat-5, one can see cars moving on freeways from space, but Formosat-8 allows them to go further to distinguish trucks, cars and other vehicles,” she said.
When planning disaster relief operations, government officials can gauge the scale of damage in affected areas using Formosat-8, enabling them to formulate more precise strategies, she said.
Meanwhile, Formosat-8 has a greater number of multispectral bands, enabling officials to distinguish plants from non-plants and even identify vegetation types, Liu said.
The first batch of remote-sensing images produced by Formosat-5 were blurry and exhibited lens flare, which was corrected after component calibration, orbital adjustments and post-processing, she said.
To avoid these issues, the project team decided to use a high-quality collimator, which is calibrated every six months or after earthquakes, Liu said.
Additionally, a thermal focus adjustment mechanism was incorporated into the optical design, allowing the team to correct slight defocusing on orbit after launch, ensuring proper focus, she said.
The Formosat-8 constellation has a higher revisit frequency than Formosat-5, Liu said.
With only one satellite, Formosat-5 passes above Taiwan approximately once every two days, Liu said.
“When all eight satellites in space, Formosat-8 can capture images from space three times a day,” she said, adding that the high revisit frequency would also greatly relieve problems caused by images obscured by clouds.
Formosat-8 would be used to support surveillance operations of the Ministry of National Defense, Liu said.
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS