The Ministry of Science and Technology has designated a government-owned property as a site for launching sounding rockets, which could pave the way for soliciting commercial opportunities for the nation’s space technology, academics said.
The ministry on June 4 released a 16-page draft of guidelines governing security issues on launch sites for sounding rockets, which carry instruments for scientific research.
The ministry is to gather public opinions about the guidelines until Wednesday next week.
According to the draft guidelines, researchers should file an application with the ministry 30 days before a launch, and include plans for the simulated flight path, landing zone for rocket components and emergency response measures.
Researchers now launch sounding rockets at military bases or from idle land, but the guidelines show that the ministry has designated a seaside plot in Pingtung’s Mudan Township (牡丹) as a site for launches.
Sounding rockets carry instruments up to 300km above ground and return to Earth after the mission, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Shieh Dar-bin (謝達斌) said on Thursday.
The planned site is a property that the ministry has borrowed from the National Property Administration and is “one of the ministry’s candidate venues,” he said.
While the draft guidelines do not cover the launch of commercial rockets, it might be a way out for Taiwan Innovative Space Inc (TiSPACE), whose first test-launch has hit a snag.
Founded in 2016, TiSPACE is the nation’s first commercial rocket company. Last year, it planned to test-launch its Hapith I rocket from a site in Taitung County’s Nantian Village (南田), but the plan was suspended because of a dispute over the site’s legitimacy.
The Taitung County Government said in a news release on April 9 that construction on the site is illegal, and has issued several fines to the firm. Taiwan Power Co has cut power supply to the site.
The company is not under the ministry’s purview, but it could consider paying rent to use the Mudan site when it is ready, Shieh said.
The rent would be different for academic and commercial teams, but the lease standards are not yet ready, he added.
Asked if it would consider leasing the new site, TiSPACE said it could not comment as the draft has not been finalized.
Space science academics welcomed the ministry’s plan.
It is “very good” that the government has finally decided to establish such a site, National Central University Department of Space Science and Engineering director Chao Chi-kuang (趙吉光) said.
The site is adjacent to the Jioupeng Military Base, which the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology uses to test missiles, he added.
Although the site has been designated for scientific research, it might be open to commercial applications in the future, he said.
National Chiao Tung University (NCTU) mechanical engineering professor Gou Chong-sin (吳宗信) also lauded the plan.
Known for establishing the Advanced Rocket Research Center at NCTU in 2012, he said he founded TiSPACE, but left the firm in 2018 due to differences in opinion with other company members.
The ministry’s planned site might only be a temporary establishment, as it is only 1 to 2 hectares — which would be inadequate for bigger rocket launches or commercial development, and would also be used by the military at times, he said.
To build a national rocket launch base, the government should consider finding a 100 to 200 hectare plot equipped with launch pad facilities and electricity supply, he said, adding that the nation needs a “Space Act” to complete related requirements.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS