Development of the Satellite and Space Industry in Taiwan

The space industry is a key item of Taiwan's six core strategic industries. In 2021, the Legislative Yuan passed the Space Development Act to promote the satellite industry and cultivate talents for the development of space technologies. By leveraging resources from both government and private sectors, the Space Development Act provides a foundation to bring the space industry in Taiwan to a new paradigm. Outside of Taiwan, low earth orbit (LEO) communication technologies are being commercialized, and new applications such as space travel and precise remote sensing are also being realized. To understand the current status of the satellite and space industry in Taiwan, there are eight articles in this issue from both public and private institutions covering various aspects of recent developments, including (1) A satellite synthetic aperture radar for LEO, (2) A satellite attitude control system using spherical motor technology, (3) Space qualified components for LEO satellite communication, (4) A spaceflight verification service to boost Taiwan's industry of space qualified suppliers, (5) An introduction to the CubeSat project, (6) Satellite remote sensing for regional air pollution monitoring, (7) Viewing the South China Sea’s seafloor topography from space, and (8) TRITON (wind hunter satellite) for retrieving sea surface wind speed and managing the marine environment. The research works witnessed not only the results accumulated over the past decades in space technologies in Taiwan but also outlines future prospects. With the support and encouragement of government policies, the LEO satellite and ground equipment industry is the current focus, with the goal of global branding and launching our first B5G (beyond 5G) satellite in 2025.

Yu-Jiu Wang

Taiwan AESA Plays an Important Role in Global LEO Applications

Yung-Cheng Chang

World-first Commercial Satellite Attitude Control System Using Spherical Motor Technology

Chin-Yi Chu

Space Qualified Components for LEO Satellite Communication

Bill Chang

Taiwan to Venture Into the Sea of Stars

Sheng-Long Kao

A New Era of Navigation, Starting from Space-Big Data in the Ocean

Tang-Huang Lin

Satellite Remote Sensing of Aerosol Profiles in 3D PM2.5 Construction for Regional Air Pollution Monitoring

Chein-Way Hwang

Viewing South China Sea’s Seafloor Topography from Space

Feng-Tai Hwang

The Capturer of Sea Wind Characteristics － the Triton Satellite