FORMOSAT-5 was launched on August 25, 2017 at 2:51 a.m. Taiwan time from Vandenberg Air Force base by Falcon 9 rocket. The satellite was injected into mission orbit successfully.

Later on, NSPO received the state vector transmitted from SpaceX and used it to propagate for FORMOSAT-5's orbit. The orbit data was sent to Svalbard station to prepare for the pass. At 4:11 a.m. Taiwan Time, the ground antenna of Svalbard station received the signal from FORMOSAT-5 as expected. The success of the first contact marks a milestone of FORMOSAT-5.