By Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter, in HSINCHUThe nation’s first locally designed satellite, FORMOSAT-5, should be on its way to the US in preparation for its launch next month, National Space Organization (NSPO) officials said yesterday at a ceremony in Hsinchu. The NSPO had planned to launch the satellite in October last year, but it was postponed after SpaceX’s failed rocket test in September. Reflecting on their efforts over the past six years, NSPO Director-General Chang Guey-shin (張桂祥), holding back tears, said the team had encountered many difficulties since the project started in 2010. When it was developing an earlier satellite named Argo, it could not find some essential components, NARL Director and former NSPO director-general Wang Yeong-her (王永和) said. Asked about the difference between FORMOSAT-5 and FORMOSAT-2, Wang said their functions are similar, but FORMOSAT-5 was locally developed and manufactured, while FORMOSAT-2 was bought from the US.

Source: Taipei Times July 19, 2017 15:56 UTC