1st FORMOSAT-8 satellite to be launched in October

Taipei, July 24 (CNA) The Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) announced Thursday that the first FORMOSAT-8 satellite (FS-8A) may be launched in October at the earliest.

The national civilian space agency announced that the satellite, Taiwan's first self-made optical remote sensing satellite, has finished all of its functional tests and is ready to launch, in a news release.

After it passes the pre-shipment review scheduled for early August, it will be shipped to the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California in late August, and then carried by a SpaceX Transporter-15 rocket into space.

The FORMOSAT-8 project leader Cynthia Liu (劉小菁) was quoted in the statement to say that it is crucial to find as many potential problems in a satellite on the ground as possible, as it cannot be repaired once it is launched into the sky.

The satellite must undergo tests to ensure it can withstand extreme temperature variations and the vacuum environment of a rocket and outer space, including electromagnetic compatibility, vibration, thermal vacuum, and separation shock tests, Liu said.

After the environment tests, the team conducted a comprehensive functional test to ensure that the satellite systems and its subsystems all functioned normally, she said.

TASA Director General Wu Jong-shinn (吳宗信) said that the satellite has a raw resolution of 1 meter and will display enhancement in Taiwan's space technology if it can carry out its mission.

The FORMOSAT-8 satellites are expected to be launched in succession from 2025 and completed by 2031, according to the statement.

Once fully deployed, the satellites will provide global coverage and multiple revisits per day, meeting the nation's needs for security and disaster relief, Wu said.