CWA, TASA sign MOU on meteorological and space monitoring

Taipei, May 9 (CNA) The Central Weather Administration (CWA) and Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Taipei Thursday to strengthen their collaboration on meteorological observation and space weather forecast.

Signed by CWA head Cheng Chia-ping (程家平) and TASA Director-General Wu Jong-shinn (吳宗信), the MOU covers areas such as collaboration on meteorological and space monitoring, enhancement of related techniques, and data exchange, according to the CWA.

Future collaboration involves utilizing data collected by the FORMOSAT-7 and Triton satellites for space weather and maritime meteorological observations, the agency said, noting that the application aims to enhance the accuracy of weather forecasts, benefiting not only space missions but also addressing the needs of daily life, disaster prevention, and relief efforts.

Cheng said at the signing ceremony that the CWA started working with TASA in 2002 on preparation work relating to the FORMOSAT-3 satellite, and the two sides also collaborated to establish the Taiwan Analysis Center for COSMIC in 2005.

Wu said collaboration work under the MOU includes 24-hour satellite data reception, processing and transmission, involving not only atmospheric temperature, humidity and pressure information but also data for space weather forecasting.

According to TASA, information from space weather forecasting is crucial for satellite operations, aircraft communication safety, and positioning accuracy.

TASA information shows that FORMOSAT-7 produces around 5,500 atmospheric and 4,000 ionosphere data points daily, and CWA has helped TASA process nearly 30 million data points since the FORMOSAT-3 went online.

Cheng said FORMOSAT-7 mainly provides atmospheric information such as temperature, humidity, and pressure, while Triton's primary function is to collect sea surface wind data and complementing ground radar wind field data.

Furthermore, according to simulation comparison analysis, data collected by FORMOSAT-7 can improve the accuracy of weather forecasts by 6-10 percent, as well as reduce errors in forecasting the path of a typhoon over 72 hours by an average of 5 percent.

Cheng further explained that FORMOSAT-7's observation mission specifically targets tropical regions, roughly within the latitudes of 45 degrees north and south.

At the same time, Wu said Triton has operated well since its launch on Oct. 9 last year and the first stage review of data collected by it has been completed.

Triton data is expected to be released in June, he added.

FORMOSAT-7 is a joint Taiwan-United States project of satellite constellation, involving TASA on the Taiwanese side and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the United States Air Force on the U.S. side. FORMOSAT-7 was launched in June 2019 in the U.S. and its research areas include meteorology, ionosphere, climatology, and space weather.

As for Triton, also known as the Wind-Hunter satellite, it is Taiwan's first domestically-built satellite. Designed and manufactured mainly by TASA, the Triton project was initiated in 2013 with an aim to collect information that could help predict typhoon paths and heavy rainfall more accurately.