Formosat-5

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Formosat-5
Artist's concept of Formosat-5
Mission type Earth observation
Operator NSPO
COSPAR ID 2017-049A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no. 42920
Website Formosat-5
Mission duration Planned: 5 years
Elapsed: 6 years, 9 months, 8 days
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer NSPO
Launch mass 475 kg (1,047 lb) [1]
Dimensions 1.6 × 2.8 m (5.2 × 9.2 ft) [1]
Start of mission
Launch date 24 August 2017, 18:51  ( 2017-08-24UTC18:51 )   UTC [2]
Rocket Falcon 9 FT
Launch site Vandenberg SLC-4E
Contractor SpaceX
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Sun-synchronous
Semi-major axis 7,101.4 km (4,412.6 mi)
Eccentricity 0.0009348
Perigee altitude 716.6 km (445.3 mi)
Apogee altitude 729.9 km (453.5 mi)
Inclination 98.2892°
Period 99.25 minutes
Epoch 25 August 2017, 12:30:14 UTC [3]
FORMOSAT programme
 

Formosat-5 ( Formosa Satellite 5 ; Chinese : 福爾摩沙衛星五號 ) is the first Earth observation satellite manufactured and operated solely by the National Space Organization , the national civilian space agency of Taiwan . The satellite was launched from a Falcon 9 rocket on 24 August 2017, and placed into a Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of about 720 km. Formosat-5 can capture color and more detailed monochrome images, along with measuring the ionosphere plasma's properties.

Spacecraft design [ edit ]

Formosat-5 primary goal is to demonstrate Taiwan's satellite manufacturing capabilities and produce data for various academic research. The satellite is 2.8 m tall, 1.6 m wide octagonal prism body, and weighs about 450 kg. Formosat-5 contains the Optical Telemetry Payload ( Chinese : 光學遙測酬載 ) capturing color and monochrome images, and the Advanced Ionospheric Sounder ( Chinese : 先進電離層探測儀 ) measuring the ionosphere . [4]

The Optical Telemetry Payload is the primary instrument aboard the spacecraft, composed of a telescope and an electrical unit. The telescope uses a CMOS chip designed to see four light wavelengths: blue, green, red, and near infrared . The chip also has a dedicated monochrome sensor with 12-bit color depth . The Optical Telemetry Payload has a 10GB storage device, which can store panoramas that take 8 minutes to capture. [4] Formosat-5 can capture images with a 2-meter resolution in black and white and 4 meters in color. [5]

Formosat-5 also contains a scientific payload, called Advanced Ionospheric Probe, that studies plasma physics and properties in the ionosphere. [6] This instrument can measure plasma composition, density , temperature , and flow rate. The Advanced Ionospheric Probe is expected to be sensitive enough to capture anomalies of the ionosphere before earthquakes. [4]

Other components of Formosat-5 include a power control and distribution unit, heaters, batteries , and foldable solar panels . The power control and distribution unit can output a voltage of 5.2V with a maximum wattage of 50W. Formosat-5's MIPS computer can process 20 million instructions per second, with high-speed data channels. [4]

Operation [ edit ]

Artist's concept of Formosat-5 in orbit

Formosat-5 is the National Space Organization's first indigenously developed observation satellite , directed by Chang Ho-pen ( 張和本 ). [7] [8] [9] [5]

The satellite was flown from Taiwan to Los Angeles International Airport in the United States on 19 July 2017 via a China Airlines transport aircraft, and arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base on 26 July. [10] [11] Launch took place on 24 August 2017 at 18:51 UTC from Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 4 aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. [2]

In September 2017, Formosat-5 transmitted its first images, which were blurry. A subsequent rescue mission fixed the satellite; however, it is limited to capturing images during good weather. [5]

References [ edit ]

  1. ^ a b "Space Programs: FORMOSAT-5: Satellite" . National Space Organization . Archived from the original on 26 August 2017 . Retrieved 25 August 2017 .
  2. ^ a b Clark, Stephen (25 August 2017). "Taiwanese satellite rides SpaceX rocket" . Spaceflight Now . Archived from the original on 9 August 2018 . Retrieved 25 August 2017 .
  3. ^ "FORMOSAT-5: TLE" . Space-track.org . 25 August 2017 . Retrieved 25 August 2017 .
  4. ^ a b c d "福爾摩沙衛星五號 - 國家太空中心" . www.nspo.narl.org.tw (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 25 September 2020 . Retrieved 20 October 2021 .
  5. ^ a b c Lin, Chia-nan (24 February 2018). "Taiwanese satellite nails image clarity" . Taipei Times . Archived from the original on 27 February 2018 . Retrieved 26 February 2018 .
  6. ^ "Space Programs: FORMOSAT-5: Payloads" . National Space Organization . Archived from the original on 22 August 2017 . Retrieved 25 August 2017 .
  7. ^ "Space Programs: FORMOSAT-5: Program Description" . National Space Organization . Retrieved 25 August 2017 .
  8. ^ "FormoSat-5" . eoPortal . European Space Agency . Archived from the original on 1 April 2021 . Retrieved 21 January 2017 .
  9. ^ "FORMOSAT 5" . Gunter's Space Page . Archived from the original on 2 January 2017 . Retrieved 21 January 2017 .
  10. ^ Tsao, Yu-fan; Kao, Evelyn; Chen, Christie (20 July 2017). "Taiwan's Formosat-5 satellite arrives in Los Angeles" . Focus Taiwan . Archived from the original on 24 August 2017 . Retrieved 25 August 2017 .
  11. ^ Goh, Deyana (27 July 2017). "Taiwan's indigenous FORMOSAT-5 arrives at Vandenberg to prepare for SpaceX launch" . SpaceTech Asia . Archived from the original on 25 August 2017 . Retrieved 25 August 2017 .

External links [ edit ]

Media related to FORMOSAT-5 at Wikimedia Commons

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