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Taiwan-made satellite launched
The Taiwan-made PARUS-T1 CubeSat, designed by the Taiwan Space Agency TASA, was successfully launched into orbit early Wednesday aboard a SpaceX rocket from California.
The satellite is now positioned 515 kilometres above Earth in Low-Earth Orbit. 30 minutes after deployment, the CubeSat deployed its dish and solar panel and made contact with TASA's ground station.
PARUS-T1 will undergo testing for communication systems, ship tracking, and other autonomous functions during its planned one-year mission.
This marks a significant step in Taiwan's space program, as the satellite was entirely designed, assembled, and tested domestically.
TASA says the project aims to create a standardized CubeSat platform to boost Taiwan's space industry and speed up research and development for academic and industrial partners.
The satellite is named after Taiwan's chestnut-bellied tit, symbolizing agility and ambition in space exploration.
