President Lai Ching-te welcomed Formosat-8A’s departure to the U.S. for launch. Lai attended a ceremony at the Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) headquartered in Hsinchu on Oct. 7 and noted that the satellite's completion and its up-coming launch was an important milestone in the development of the nation's space technology.
The satellite, which will obtain high resolution images from space, is also named for film director Chi Po-lin, best known for his 2013 documentary film Beyond Beauty: Taiwan from Above, which won Best Documentary award at the 2013 Golden Horse Awards. Chi's family and colleagues were present and were acknowledged by Lai in his speech.
The satellite is the first in the Formosat-8 constellation, Taiwan's first domestically produced satellite cluster. Following its November launch, it will take on the brief of Formosat-5 and continue to upgrade the mission of keeping watch over Taiwan and observing the world.
Lai mentioned that during his tenure as premier, he personally visited TASA to open the third phase of the national space science and technology development plan, which was the result of years of collaborative effort, and being able to witness its current achievement was truly moving.
The president further noted that space technology is key for Taiwan's industrial development and was mentioned in his inauguration speech as a national strategic industry. He thanked TASA for advancing satellite technology research and development, building on the foundation of the previous Formosat program and increasing domestic production.
The satellite incorporates key components designed in-house, achieving over 80 percent domestic production, which demonstrates Taiwan's large-scale scientific research system and positions Taiwan in the international space market. By combining strengths in information and communications technology, electrical machinery and precision manufacturing, the satellite program will drive technological advancements across industry, academia, and research, building a Made in Taiwan space industry supply chain.
The satellite constellation will form part of an Earth observation network and data collected will be used for planning land use, to monitor agriculture, to aid disaster response and environmental protection, thus strengthening national resilience, and enabling Taiwan to proactively address climate change and geopolitical challenges.(POC-E)
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