American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Kin W. Moy visited the National Space Organization (NSPO) on November 16, 2015. 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. NSPO's FORMOSAT-1, 2, and 3 satellite programs used U.S. launch vehicles. The FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC mission, launched in 2006, was the first U.S.-Taiwan cooperative space mission, providing groundbreaking advances in meteorology, climatology, and other scientific fields. The United States and Taiwan are broadening this cooperation with the FORMOSAT-7/ COSMIC-2 Program, a 12-satellite constellation mission which has its first 6-satellite launch planned for the third quarter of 2016.

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 the FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2 orbiters and NSPO's indigenously developed FORMOSAT-5 earth imaging satellite.

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 initial six orbiters of the US$ 400 million FORMOSAT-7/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 areas that provide scientific benefits to both our economies and the global community.

Information on the FORMOSAT-3 / COSMIC and FORMOSAT-7 / COSMIC-2 Programs is available here: http://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news_archives/measuring_earths_atmosphere.html