The Formosat-7/COSMIC-2 satellite constellation would bolster national security by collecting more weather data, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday as she inspected the Ministry of Science and Technology’s preparations for the next launch.
The Formosat-7 constellation, the biggest Taiwanese-US collaboration, is designed to collect more weather data for national defense and disease prevention purposes, Tsai said while visiting the National Space Organization (NSPO) at the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區).
The nation demonstrated its ability to develop space technology when Formosat-5 — Taiwan’s first domestically developed remote sensing satellite — was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Aug. 25, 2017, she said, adding that the government would continue to support space technology development to make Taiwan an indispensable part of the global supply chain.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
After inspecting the organization’s integration and testing facilities, Tsai presented the constellation’s certification of flight readiness to NSPO Director-General Lin Chun-liang (林俊良).
The successor to the Formosat-3 constellation, dubbed “the world’s most precise thermometer in space,” the Formosat-7 constellation is expected to collect three to four times more data than its predecessor, Lin said.
It would be transported to the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida by China Airlines cargo aircraft and launched on a Space Exploration Technologies Falcon Heavy launch vehicle, he said, but added that the agency is still waiting for the US to set a launch date.
Formosat-7’s six mission satellites were manufactured by the Surrey Satellite Technology in England, a unit of Airbus Defense and Space, and are each equipped with three US-made instruments: the Tri-GNSS Radio Occultation System, an ion velocity meter and a radio frequency beacon, Lin said.
A seventh satellite, the Formosat-7R, also named Triton or “wind hunter,” was developed by the NSPO and would be launched next year at the earliest, NSPO Deputy Director-General Yu Shiann-jen (余憲政) said, adding that the agency would open an international tender for its launch.
Developing key satellite components is crucial to the nation’s third space program, which runs from this year until 2028, when it plans to launch six pilot high-resolution remote sensing satellites, two ultra-high-resolution remote sensing satellites and two synthetic aperture radar satellites, Minister of Science and Technology Chen Liang-gee (陳良基) said.
The program’s first remote sensing satellite is expected to be launched in 2021, Chen said.
In addition to the NSPO, academic and industrial resources would be involved in the program when necessary, he said, adding that many academics are keen to work on space exploration projects.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
RSS