TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan-US space cooperation could deepen following the House science committee’s passage of the NASA Reauthorization Act, Taiwan Space Agency Director-General Wu Jong-shinn (吳宗信) said on Monday.

The committee approved the bill last month, which includes the Taiwan and American Space Assistance Act. This could accelerate a mutually beneficial and complementary space partnership, Wu said at a Center for Strategic and International Studies online seminar, CNA reported. 

Wu said the US holds an advantage in space technology, while Taiwan has strong manufacturing capabilities. American companies could leverage Taiwan’s strengths to ramp up development and promote the industrialization of the space industry and space infrastructure as a whole.

The Taiwanese company Phison, which designs flash storage devices, has already partnered with a US company to plan the construction of a lunar data center and previously participated in NASA’s Perseverance rover mission on Mars, according to Wu. Taiwanese-built equipment has been operating on Mars for years, he said.

Wu is in Washington, D.C., to attend a satellite industry conference, where he hopes to strengthen ties with global partners, promote Taiwan as a reliable space supply chain partner, and explore opportunities for cooperation. 

In the future, TASA will continue to promote the development of the space economy in Taiwan, and it will inevitably play a more important role in national security, Wu said.