A satellite jointly developed by Taiwan and Japan was successfully launched aboard a SpaceX CRS-31 rocket Nov. 5 from Cape Canaveral in the United States, the Taiwan Space Agency said.
Onboard Globe-Looking and Imaging Satellite, or ONGLAISAT, is scheduled to be deployed from the International Space Station into a low Earth orbit in about one month, the TASA said. It will then begin its mission of testing next-generation remote sensing instruments.
The satellite will also test high-resolution data collection and image compression technologies developed by the TASA in cooperation with the Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute, the organization added.
The 6U-class satellite, which is composed of six units of standardized blocks of roughly 10 cubic centimeters, was jointly developed by the TASA and the Intelligent Space Systems Laboratory of the University of Tokyo, as well as Tokyo-based ArkEdge Space Inc. and Space BD Inc, with an estimated mission duration of six months.
According to TASA Director-General Wu Jong-shinn, ONGLAISAT is the first such joint initiative between Taiwan and Japan, and is expected to expand bilateral exchange in the potential-laden sector and create more cross-border cooperation in the future.
The ONGLAISAT is part of TASA’s CubeSats/Micro-Satellite Development Program. Launched in 2022, the project aims to collaborate with Taiwan’s industrial manufacturers to develop commercial application constellation missions that use locally developed payloads as a way to promote the local component and module sectors.
Under this project, two satellites named “Nightjar” and “TORO” were launched this August, and six more are set to be launched in the second half of 2025, the TASA said. (SFC-E)
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