FORMOSAT-5

Another breakthrough for the NARL's National Space Organization (NSPO)! The NARL-NSPO is formulating and leading a team of outstanding partners, of public and private, from the country to pick up the challenge in developing a remote sensing satellite, FORMOSAT-5. The optical remote sensing instrument (RSI) onboard FORMOSAT-5 is planned to be designed, manufactured, and assembled by the team. Apart from the NARL-NSPO, this determined RSI team includes the NARL's two other affiliated centers, the Instrument Technology Research Center (ITRC) and the National Chip Implementation Center (CIC); the Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST); the Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC); the CMOS Sensor Inc.; and the Camels Vision Technologies (CAMELS VT). To secure critical components for developing the first RSI in Taiwan, the NARL-NSPO chooses the Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor developed in the country, instead of the conventional Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) sensor that has to be procured from abroad. This strategy of utilizing superior domestic CMOS technologies puts Taiwan's space program in a more competitive position.

On February 2, 2010, the NARL and other team members announced the team formulation for the FORMOSAT-5 remote sensing instrument in Taipei. This challenging task will be shared among the team members: the NARL-NSPO for the system integration of the RSI; the NARL-ITRC for the optical system design and mirror manufacturing; the NARL-CIC for the verification of the CMOS chips; CMOS Sensor Inc. for the Focal Plane Assembly (FPA) and the innovative CMOS image sensor; the CSIST for the instrument electronic unit; the CAMELS VT for the design of Solid State Recorder inside Electronic Unit (EU); and the AIDC for the instrument structure manufacturing. The team will take three years to complete the development.

The first domestically-made optical remote-sensing instrument, carried on the remote sensing FORMOSAT-5, will have 2-meter panchromatic resolution and 4-meter multi-spectral resolution, and be launched in 2013 to perform the earth observation mission. And after the completion of the FORMOSAT-5 program, the NARL-NSPO will acquire the full capability of 500-kg-class satellite design for high-resolution optical remote-sensing mission and related critical technologies. By then it will lead Taiwan's space technology program into a new era.