The nation’s space development program is to receive an additional NT$40 billion (US$1.23 billion) in funding, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday in a speech at the opening of the Taiwan International Assembly of Space Science, Technology and Industry in Taipei.
The launch of Taiwan’s first domestically produced weather satellite, Triton, earlier this month proves that the nation not only has advantages in semiconductors and precision manufacturing, but also the ability to enter the global space industry, Tsai said.
The additional funding for the third phase of the space development program — initiated in 2019 with an investment of NT$25.1 billion over 10 years — would go into supporting the development of low Earth orbit communication satellites, as well as national launch sites for satellites, she said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
In a keynote speech, US Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction Michael Morgan highlighted cooperative space projects that have brought together Taiwanese scientists and US engineers.
For example, the launch of Taiwan’s Formosat-7/COSMIC-2 satellites in 2019 was the largest science technology activity undertaken by Taiwanese and US authorities, Morgan said.
“We have seen that the data from this mission are critical in the operations of NOAA’s [the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] weather service,” he said.
The satellites reduced errors in global modeling data from NOAA by about 6 percent, he said.
The US Air Force’s 557th Weather Wing also uses this important data, he added.
The NOAA and the Center for Space and Remote Sensing Research at National Central University in Taoyuan are also collaborating on space-based marine oil pollution and marine debris monitoring, he said.
Taiwan’s Triton, also known as the Wind-Hunter Satellite, has potential for retrieving wind data, and assessing soil moisture and flood inundation, he added.
The near-surface wind retrievals are particularly valuable, providing crucial insights into understanding the structure of cyclones over oceans, he said.
“We have identified mutually beneficial collaboration on space weather through the accommodation of space weather instruments on the upcoming TASA [Taiwan Space Agency] and Formosat-8 spacecraft missions,” he said, referring to TASA’s ongoing development of six high-resolution optical satellites, known collectively as the Formosat-8 satellite constellation.
The five-day conference, the largest international showcase for Taiwan’s space industry, brings together public and private sector operators in space technology from countries including India, Japan and the US.
TASA, which hosts the annual conference, says the event serves as a platform for integrating the fields of science, technology and industry in the sector, to attract international attention to Taiwan’s space development and facilitate cooperation.
The conference includes forums, keynote speeches, academic presentations and exhibition booths where satellite and communication industry representatives display their latest developments.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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