TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Taiwan-developed PARUS-T2 was launched into space aboard a SpaceX rocket on Tuesday.
The Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) deployed the domestically developed CubeSat aboard a Falcon 9 rocket at 5:25 a.m. Taiwan time, per CNA. Its mission is to validate structural enhancements through intensive reliability testing.
PARUS-T2 entered a 621-kilometer low Earth orbit approximately 136 minutes after launch and established contact with an overseas ground station two hours later. It is expected to connect with a Taiwanese ground station at 10 p.m. and has a planned mission duration of 12 months.
A CubeSat, or cube satellite, is a compact modular satellite made up of 10-centimeter cube units.
To foster innovation through in-orbit verification using CubeSats, TASA has been developing the PARUS CubeSat platform. The series currently includes the launched 3U models T1, T1A, and T2, with 6U models 6U1 and 6U2 in development.
PARUS-T2 builds on the design of PARUS-T1, which launched in January. Upgrades include improvements to the onboard computer, power control system, satellite battery, CubeSat-compatible GNSS receiver, and a new solar panel deployment mechanism. It also features a spherical motor attitude determination and control system developed by local firm Tensor Tech.
Its payload includes two Taiwan-made systems: a voice cross-band repeater and an automatic packet reporting system.
TASA said the mission aims to improve the reliability of its CubeSat platform and provide a standardized base for academic and industrial payload development. This would reduce development time, raise success rates, and enhance Taiwan’s competitiveness in the global space sector.
The name PARUS was inspired by the chestnut-bellied tit (Sittiparus castaneoventris), a bird native to Taiwan. The agency said the name reflects the spirit of Taiwan-built CubeSats carrying local innovation into space.
TASA added that the next CubeSat in the series, PARUS-6U1, is set to launch aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-15 mission in October. The mission’s primary payload will be FS-8A, the first satellite of the Formosat-8 series.
