Taiwan’s cooperative space activities at present and in future

Abstract

Taiwan is developing a long-term space program which is entering its next 15 years of planning cycle. Since its establishment in 1992, the National Space Program Office has played a key role in introducing satellite technology and space experiments into Taiwan. In parallel, basic research in space science and remote-sensing observations are being promoted in different institutions. A combination of these efforts has earned Taiwan a compact but effective space program capable of mounting satellite missions and advanced study in various disciplines of space science. The satellite data receiving and data processing facilities are particularly valuable in addressing issues related to environmental protection, natural hazards and economic planning. At the present time, Taiwan’s international cooperative space activities are still very limited in scope but there is a wide ranging of possibilities which could be pursued together with other developing nations in space research under the auspice of COSPAR.