Ground stations yet to hear from new cubesats
By Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter
The local research teams that developed two cubesats launched by a Space Exploration Technologies Corp’s (SpaceX) Falcon 9 rocket at 11pm on Sunday are dealing with signal reception problems at their ground stations.
The Transporter-1 mission launched 143 satellites the most ever deployed on a single mission from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, after being delayed three times due to technical problems or unfavorable weather.
Taiwan’s two cubesats are the YuSat, designed to monitor road and maritime traffic, and the Ionospheric Dynamics Explorer and Attitude Subsystem Satellite (IDEASSat), designed for ionospheric observation.
NSPO names its new director-general
PASSION FOR ROCKETS: As head of the NSPO, Wu Jong-shinn is to focus on building a rocket launch site. He has said Taiwan should be able to launch satellites on its own
By Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter
Rocket scientist Wu Jong-shinn (吳宗信) is to lead the National Space Organization (NSPO) from Aug. 1, and his mission would be to establish a rocket launch site, the National Applied Research Laboratories (NARL) said yesterday.
NSPO Director-General Lin Chun-liang (林俊良), who assumed office on Feb. 1, 2018, has said that he plans to return to his research position at National Chung Hsing University next month.
SpaceX launch of two Taiwanese cubesats delayed
By Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter, in Hsinchu City
Two cubesats developed by Taiwanese researchers were scheduled to be launched by Space Exploration Technologies Corp’s (SpaceX) Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida between 22:24pm and 23:24pm last night.
However, SpaceX at 10:37pm tweeted that due to unfavorable weather, it was delaying the launch until tonight.
The Transporter-1 mission is the first to be part of the company’s SmallSat Rideshare Program, according to the SpaceX Web site.
“On board this launch are 133 commercial and government spacecraft (including cubesats, microsats, and orbital transfer vehicles) and 10 Starlink satellites the most spacecraft ever deployed on a single mission,” the Web site said.
Ministry planning low-orbit satellite launch in 2025
By Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter
Taiwan’s first low-orbit communications satellite would be launched by 2025, and the government has budgeted NT$4 billion (US$140.62 million) for its development, Minister of Science and Technology Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) said yesterday.
The Beyond 5G communications satellite would be jointly developed by the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Wu told a news conference in Taipei.
The program seeks to help local companies make inroads into the emerging low-orbit satellite communications industry, led by US rocket supplier SpaceX’s Starlink program, he said.
Minister of Science and Technology Wu Tsung-tsong speaks at a news conference at the ministry in Taipei yesterday.
2021/01/13 17:22 YUSAT CubeSat can monitor ground traffic and improve maritime navigation safety. (NSPO image) YUSAT CubeSat can monitor ground traffic and improve maritime navigation safety. (NSPO image) TAIPEI (Taiwan News) Two of Taiwan s domestically made mini-satellites will be launched into space from Florida on Jan. 21, according to Science and Technology Minister Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠). During a press conference on Wednesday (Jan. 13), Wu pointed out that the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) has been exploring innovations for the last eight months. He said researchers from Taiwan s National Space Organization (NSPO) were able to develop three mini-satellites, also known as CubeSats (立方衛星), to carry out space tasks such as ionospheric observations.