An alliance to promote space-level radioactivity resistance testing has been established to help local firms connect with the global space industry, the National Applied Research Laboratories (NARL) said yesterday.
After Taiwan’s first domestically produced satellite Formosat-5 was launched in 2017 to supply remote-sensing images, the nation has worked harder to foster a space industry and last year established the Taiwan Space Industry Development Association.
The alliance aims to help Taiwan evolve from a nation with a booming semiconductor industry to one supplying electronic components that can withstand space-level radioactivity, it said.
Photo courtesy of the National Space Organization
The NARL-affiliated National Space Organization, which leads the association, would be tasked with establishing a platform and standards for verifying components’ resistance to space-level radioactivity, it added.
The organization on Tuesday signed memorandums of understanding to cooperate with Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Linkou, Chang Gung University’s Institute for Radiological Research, the Atomic Energy Council’s Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, Academia Sinica’s Institute of Physics, National Tsing Hua University’s Nuclear Science and Technology Development Center, as well as Integrated Service Technology Inc, it said.
As protons are found in nearly 95 percent of the environment in low-Earth orbit, or 106km to 1,000km above the Earth, the alliance’s service would encompass the impact of protons on electronic components, it added.
The company would be in charge of testing commercial components, while the hospital would utilize its proton radiation instruments, originally used for treatment, to test the effects of radiation, the NARL said.
The Nuclear Science and Technology Development Center would employ its instruments to produce high-energy gamma rays to simulate space radiation, while the Institute of Physics and Chang Gung University would help with data analysis, it said.
In addition to providing a one-stop service, the alliance would produce analysis reports for suppliers to improve their product designs and manufacturing processes, the NARL said.
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
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online