National Space Organization (Taiwan)
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National Space Organization
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| Traditional Chinese: | 國家太空中心 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese: | 国家太空中心 | ||||||||
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The National Space Organization (NSPO, formerly known as the National Space Program Office) is the civilian space agency of Taiwan under the auspices of the Executive Yuan's National Science Council. NSPO is currently involved in both the development of space and satellite related technologies and infrastructure (including the FORMOSAT series of Earth observation satellites) and related research in aerospace engineering, remote sensing, astrophysics, atmospheric science, and information science.
NSPO headquarters and the main ground control station are located in Hsinchu, Taiwan.
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[edit] Sounding rocket program
Indigenously developed suborbital launch vehicle based upon the Sky Bow II surface-to-air missile. Five launches as of 2006.
| Mission | Date | Payload | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| SR-I | 12/15/1998 | None | Successful first test flight. |
| SR-II | 10/24/2001 | Tri-Methyl Aluminum (TMA) | Second stage ignition failure, mission lost |
| SR-III | 12/24/2003 | Tri-Methyl Aluminum (TMA) | Mission successful |
| SR-IV | 12/14/2004 | Airglow photometer, GPS receiver | Mission successful |
| SR-V | 1/15/2006 | Ion probe | Mission successful |
[edit] SLV program
Little has been publicly revealed about the specification of Taiwan's first Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) （小型發射載具）. It should be able to place a 50 kg payload to a 500-700 km orbit （近地點/遠地點）with a 22.3 degrees inclination angle （軌道傾角偏差）and a tip-off rate （衛星入軌姿態） of less than 10 degrees per axis.[1] This SLV will be an upgrade based on existing sounding rockets and will consist of 4 solid propellant stages with two strap-on solid rocket boosters. Therefore it will be in the same class of the Indian SLV-3. The inaugural launch is scheduled to take place during the second phase of the 2004-2018 space project（第二期太空計畫）, placing an indigenously-made satellite into orbit and after the preparatory launches of 10 to 15 sounding rockets （探空火箭）.[2]
[edit] Satellites
[edit] FORMOSAT
- FORMOSAT-1: Communications and ionospheric research satellite, launched in January 1999.
- FORMOSAT-2: Ionospheric research and surface mapping satellite, launched May 2004.
- FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC: Constellation of six microsatellites to perform GPS occultation studies of the upper atmosphere. Collaborative project with U.S. agencies including NASA and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, launched in April 2006.
[edit] Other
- YamSat: Series of picosatellites (volume 10 cubic cm, weight roughly 850 grams) designed to carry out simple short duration spectroscopy missions. Originally planned for launch in 2003 by a Russian launch vehicle but cancelled due to political pressure from the PRC.
[edit] Planned Mission
- FORMOSAT-5: Optical earth observation and magnetic field research as a successor to the Japanese REIMEI mission. Cooperation with Japan and Canada. Launch is planned for 2011.[3]
[edit] Developments & long term plans
The first phase of Taiwan's space program involves the development of the human and technological resources required to build and maintain three satellite programs, which is expected to be completed with the launch of FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC by the end of 2005. Currently, the spacecraft and instrumentation are designed and assembled in Taiwan by local and foreign corporations and shipped to the U.S. for launch by commercial space launch firms. NSPO and the military Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology have also been working on the development of a sounding rocket for upper atmospheric studies.
The second phase is scheduled to take place between 2006 and 2018, and will involve an emphasis on developing technological integration and miniaturization capabilities required for the development of constellations of microsatellites, as well as encouraging growth in the local aerospace industry.
There have been proposals to elevate NSPO's status to that of a national research institute, however such plans are still under debate by the Legislative Yuan as of late 2007.[4]
[edit] External links & references
[edit] References
- ^ "小型發射载具性能". 虚幻天空. 2008-06-23. http://www.war-sky.com/forum/attachment/Day_080624/18_136950_2578c0c3977d961.jpg. Retrieved on June 25 2008.
- ^ "台“太空计划”决定发展微卫星火箭发射载具". 中国日报网站. 2003-10-21. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/gb/doc/2003-10/21/content_273967.htm. Retrieved on June 26 2008.
- ^ "Plasma/particle instruments and Japan-Taiwan collaboration for the Geospace magnetosphere/ionosphere explorations". Masafumi Hirahara. 2003-10-21. http://www.pssc.ncku.edu.tw/FISFES/Presentation/FISFES_2008-11(Hirahara).pdf. Retrieved on 5 June 2009.
- ^ 太空中心升格為太空研究院？立委意見不一
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