Taiwan’s first Formosat-8 satellite to begin operations in Julyv

台灣首顆福爾摩沙衛星八號（Formosat-8）將於7月開始運行

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s first Formosat-8 satellite, the Chi Po-lin Satellite, is expected to begin regular operations in July after its image quality met or exceeded original design goals, CNA reported Thursday.

The National Science and Technology Council briefed the Cabinet on the satellite’s current work and image applications Thursday. It also showed recent satellite images of the Tamsui River Bridge and the Port of Taipei.

The Chi Po-lin Satellite, also called Formosat-8A, is the first satellite in Taiwan’s Formosat-8 program. It entered orbit in November, began taking images in January, and released its first image results in February.

The council said the satellite was designed to take images with a 1-meter resolution. With image processing, the resolution can improve to 0.7 meters.

The council said the satellite’s image sharpness and signal quality were also better than expected. This means the images are clearer and more useful for public services and research.

The satellite carries 16 Taiwan-made parts that have passed in-orbit tests. These parts include the satellite computer, power control unit, solar panel deployment system, and other key components.

National Science and Technology Council Deputy Minister Lin Fa-cheng (林法正) said the parts were made in Taiwan and had met their mission goals in space. After six months of data collection in orbit, the parts can receive formal flight records.

A flight record shows that a part has worked safely and successfully in space. This can help Taiwan-made parts gain more trust and support future satellite projects.

The council said Formosat-8 is Taiwan’s first domestically made sub-meter remote sensing satellite program. The government plans to build the satellite constellation step by step from 2025 to 2031.

Once more satellites are launched, the system will be able to observe the same places more often each day. The council said this will help Taiwan monitor land use, the environment, farms, and disaster areas.

The program is also expected to help Taiwan build a stronger space supply chain. The council said local companies, universities, and research teams can use the project to develop lower-cost, high-performance satellite platforms.

The council said the last satellite in the Formosat-8 program will be the most difficult to build. It is planned to carry a larger main mirror and provide images with a resolution of about 30 centimeters.

Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said Formosat-8 is an important step for Taiwan’s place in the global space industry. He asked the council to keep training space workers and support low-orbit communications, local launch work, satellite applications, and space exploration.