The Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) yesterday said it plans to launch six low Earth orbit satellites starting in 2026 as part of the government’s plan to boost the resilience of the nation’s communications.
The development of the technology gained attention after Ukrainians were able to access the Internet through Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) CEO Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite service, despite their infrastructure being severely damaged in the war with Russia.
Two of the satellites would be built by the government, while four would involve cooperation between TASA and private contractors.
Photo courtesy of the Industrial Technology Research Institute
“Over the past 30 years, the satellite technology in Taiwan has mostly been used for remote sensing and meteorological observations,” National Science and Technology Council Minister Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) said.
“The research and development of communications satellite technology is indeed challenging, as it is complicated and fast-changing. As such, the government needs to take the lead, which is why it has extended the Phase III space project to 2031 and added NT$40 billion [US$1.23 billion] to the budget,” he said.
TASA Director-General Wu Jong-shinn (吳宗信) said the agency plans to launch the first low Earth orbit satellite in 2026 using a SpaceX rocket and the second one in 2028.
Photo: CNA
The first satellite’s body would be made in Taiwan, but the Ka bend communication payload would be built in partnership with an overseas contractor, he said.
The second satellite would be jointly developed by the Industrial Technology Research Institute, which is capable of developing 4G and 5G systems, and TASA, Wu Jong-shinn said.
The total budget to launched the two rockets is NT$900 million, he said, adding that the agency hopes that the contracts for the four other satellites will be placed on auction this year.
Aside from Starlink, there are other low Earth orbit satellite service providers, many of whom are eager to set up ground stations in Taiwan.
“However, we have to try to develop the technology ourselves. That way, we would not be worried if some companies refuse to transfer it to us,” Wu Jong-shinn said.
The launch of the six low Earth orbit satellites, known as project “Beyond 5G (B5G),” would only be the beginning, Wu Tsung-tsong said.
Simulations have shown that if there are two low-orbit communication satellites, they would only hover over Taiwan for three to five minutes when orbiting the Earth, he said.
“To achieve uninterrupted communication 24 hours a day, it is obvious that six satellites would not be enough. Taiwan needs at least 120 satellites to build communications resilience,” he said.
The next step is to build up the satellite communications industry, which not only includes existing electronics industry operators, but also new entrepreneurs, Wu Tsung-tsong said.
“They will see that telecommunications business opportunities in the next 10 or 20 years will be in space,” he said.
“Taiwan’s space ground equipment industry is already of considerable scale, with an output value exceeding NT$200 billion, but there is still a lot of room for growth in satellite manufacturing, rocket launch services and other fields,” he said. “Like a baseball player who can pitch and hit, Taiwan must be skilled on the ground and in space.”
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.
RSS