Space bill passes its third readingBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterTaiwan’s first space development bill on Monday passed a third reading, empowering the Ministry of Science and Technology to establish a national rocket launch site. The bill would confirm the ministry as the authority to oversee local space activities, including the establishment of a launch venue and approval of launch plans. Compensation that an owner or operator of a launch vehicle would be required to pay is capped at NT$5 billion if a launch were to cause an accident. Questions have been raised over whether the development bill is tailored for space launch services firm Taiwan Innovative Space (TiSPACE) and how it could progress so swiftly after a draft was approved by the Executive Yuan on Feb. 18. Despite some differences between drafts, they all revolved around regulations for launch vehicles, Huang said, denying that the bill is designed for TiSPACE.

Source: Taipei Times June 01, 2021 15:56 UTC