TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s first Formosat-8 satellite, the Chi Po-lin Satellite, successfully lifted off aboard a SpaceX rocket on Friday, marking a major milestone in the country’s domestic satellite program.
After five launch delays, the satellite was aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 2:44 a.m. Taiwan time, per CNA. It entered sun-synchronous orbit at 5:04 a.m. and began its optical remote-sensing mission.
Formosat-8 is Taiwan’s first domestically built optical remote-sensing satellite constellation. President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) named the first satellite (FS-8A) in honor of the late filmmaker Chi Po-lin (齊柏林), hoping it would watch over and document Taiwan from space.
During the final countdown, Taiwan Space Agency Director General Wu Jong-shinn (吳宗信) told CNA he felt nervous, saying, “Watching my own baby go up, I could not help but feel nervous.” He added that as the first satellite of the program, it represents the hard work of many people, and he hopes it will carry out its mission smoothly.
Wu thanked Taiwan’s industrial, governmental, academic, and research communities for their efforts. Once fully deployed, Formosat-8 will establish a high-resolution Earth-observation network with multiple daily passes and global coverage for disaster response, land-use planning, and other applications.
Project lead Liu Hsiao-ching (劉小菁) said the launch date had shifted several times since early November due to schedule conflicts, a US government shutdown, and slower-than-expected rocket preparation. She said she always believed the satellite would launch successfully.
The Chi Po-lin Satellite has an 84% domestic component rate, jointly developed by 33 Taiwanese companies, government agencies, universities, and research institutions. Beyond carrying out its mission, it will also give these components valuable flight heritage, a credential highly valued in the international space industry, strengthening Taiwan’s aerospace competitiveness.
The Chi Po-lin Satellite has an 84% domestic component rate, developed by 33 Taiwanese companies, government agencies, universities, and research institutions. Beyond its mission, the satellite will provide these components with valuable flight experience, enhancing Taiwan’s aerospace competitiveness.
The Formosat-8 constellation includes eight optical remote-sensing satellites: six with 1-meter resolution and two with sub-meter ultra-high resolution. Launches will continue annually through 2031, offering sharper, more frequent Earth observation compared with Formosat-5’s 2-meter resolution.
