FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC Workshop 2006 - Early Results and IOP Campaigns
Time: November 28 - December 1, 2006
Place: International Conference Hall, Condensed Matter & Physics Building, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

The FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC is a joint Taiwan - US mission that provides a constellation of six identical micro-satellites with unprecedented opportunities for global observations of weather, climate, ionosphere/space weather and geodetic research. The FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC mission was successfully launched on April 15, 2006 (Taiwan time). Each microsatellite carries an advanced GPS receiver (GOX) for radio occultation and precision orbit studies, a tri-band beacon (TBB) transmitter, which transmits 150, 400, and 1067 MHz radio beacons to ground-based receivers for ionospheric tomography and radio wave scintillation studies, and a tiny ionosphere photometer (TIP) for ionospheric airglow observation in nadir direction (135.6 nm). The satellite mission is expected to provide 2,500 radio occultation observations on vertical profiles of atmospheric air density, temperature, and water vapor as well as ionospheric electron density per day.

During the first few months after launch the six micro-satellites will stay relatively close to each other in longitude providing dense GPS radio occultation soundings and ionosphere observations from TBB and TIP. Dense observations provide an excellent opportunity for performing cross validation of the Formosat-3/COSMIC data with ground-based, airborne and even conventional satellite observations.  NSPO and Taiwan science community are in the process of conducting an Intense Observation Period (IOP) campaign during May-November, 2006 for both atmosphere/weather and ionosphere/space weather studies. Scientists from other nations are also encouraged to conduct similar IOP campaigns.

To provide an opportunity for scientists to present and discuss their campaign results, impacts of studies and future collaborations on using the FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC data, NSPO will hold an international scientific meeting on FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC Workshop 2006 V Early Results and IOP Campaigns to be held in Taipei, Taiwan during November 28-December 1, 2006. Scientists worldwide are invited to attend the workshop.

The participants are invited to submit papers presented at the workshop for publication. The guidelines of the paper submission will be announced in the future.

The important dates for the workshop are

Abstract submission deadline: Oct. 31, 2006
Registration deadline: Nov. 10, 2006

Local Organizing Committee:
Prof. Ben Chao (National Central University), Co-Chair 
Prof. Ching-Yuang Huang (National Central University), Co-Chair
Prof. Ching-Liang Tseng (National Cheng-Kung University) , Co-Chair
Dr. Ming-Dean Cheng (Central Weather Bureau, Taiwan)
Prof. Yen-Hsyang Chu (National Central University)
Prof. Ben Jou (National Taiwan University)
Dr. Tie-Yue Liu (National Space Organization)

Scientific Program Committee:
Prof. C. Z. Frank Cheng (NSPO and NCKU, Taiwan), Chair
Prof. Ben Chao (National Central University, Taiwan), co-Chair
Dr. Bill Kuo (UCAR, USA), co-Chair
Prof. Ching-Yuang Huang (National Central University, Taiwan), Executive Secretary
Dr. Ming-Dean Cheng (Central Weather Bureau, Taiwan)
Dr. Paul Bernhardt (Naval Research Laboratory, USA)
Prof. George Chen (National Taiwan University, Taiwan)
Prof. Yen-Hsyang Chu (National Central University, Taiwan)
Dr. Ken Dymond (Naval Research Laboratory, USA)
Dr. Nobert Jakowski (Deutsches Zentrum f?r Luft- und Raumfahrt, Germny)
Prof. Ben Jou (National Taiwan University, Taiwan)
Dr. Chin S. Lin (Air Force Research Laboratory, USA)
Prof. D. Narayana Rao (National Atmospheric Research Laboratory, India)
Prof. Ching-Liang Tseng (National Cheng-Kung University, Taiwan)
Prof. Toshitaka Tsuda (Kyoto University, Japan)
Dr. Jens Wickert (GeoForschungsZentrum, Germny)
Prof. Chun-Chieh Wu (National Taiwan University, Taiwan)
Prof. Mamoru Yamamoto (Kyoto University, Japan)

Advisory Committee:
Dr. Rick Anthes (UCAR, USA)
Dr. Jay Fein (NSF, USA)
Prof. Lou-Chuang Lee (NCU, Taiwan)
Prof. Chao-Han Liu (UST, Taiwan)
Dr. Lance Wu (NSPO, Taiwan)