American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Kin W. Moy visited the National Space Organization (NSPO) on November 16, 2015. Director Moy was accompanied by Taiwan Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Jason Yi-bing Lin and President of National Applied Research Laboratories (NAR Labs) Ching-hua Lo. Director Moy’s visit underscores the importance of U.S. and Taiwan space collaboration, a key component of the robust scientific cooperation between our two societies. During his visit, Director Moy had the opportunity to see orbiters for the COSMIC-2 / FORMOSAT-7 mission and NSPO’s indigenously developed FORMOSAT-5 earth imaging satellite.
COSMIC-2 (called FORMOSAT-7 by Taiwan) is a twelve-satellite constellation mission which has its first six-satellite launch planned for the third quarter of 2016. By analyzing atmospheric changes to GPS satellite signals, the COSMIC-2 sensors will provide weather and climate data to scientists around the world. This program builds on the work of the original COSMIC / FORMOSAT-3 mission, launched in 2006, which was the first U.S.-Taiwan cooperative space mission. COSMIC-2 is expected to deliver groundbreaking advances in meteorology, climatology, and other scientific fields.
During his visit, Director Moy praised NSPO’s advanced expertise and world-class facilities, calling it “a natural partner” for U.S. space organizations. AIT eagerly awaits the planned 2016 launch of the $400 million COSMIC-2 mission, the largest single U.S.-Taiwan cooperative program. AIT looks forward to working closely with NSPO to expand our space cooperation into new areas that provide scientific benefits to both our economies and the global community.
NSPO is Taiwan’s national space agency and is affiliated with National Applied Research Laboratories (NARLabs) and supervised by Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). NSPO has been collaborating with space organizations and industries in the United States over the past two decades in space technology development and joint space programs.
Additional information on the COSMIC / FORMOSAT-3 and COSMIC-2 / FORMOSAT-7 programs is available here: http://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news_archives/measuring_earths_atmosphere.html
