Activated the Latest but Delivered the Earliest—NCU Mission Accomplished: The Scientific Payload on FORMOSAT-5
Carrying the “Advanced Ionospheric Probe” (AIP) developed and produced by NCU, FORMOSAT-5 was successfully launched on Aug. 25th, 2017. Not only is it the national pride, but also a crucial milestone for the scientific development of NCU.
Since the development of FORMOSAT-1, the NCU development team has produced research and analysis based on the data detected and acquired by the probe, and the research and analysis have contributed to more than one hundred academic papers, transforming our country from a “data user” in the past into a “data provider” now. Nowadays, our country has the two key competences—producing devices independently and cultivating talents; furthermore, it has made a tremendous contribution to the research of space science around the world.
A Zero-fault-tolerant Space Mission
In order to secure the success of the AIP in the FORMOSAT-5 Mission, the NCU team installed the probe on Sounding Rocket IX to perform a trial flight. Finally, the trial flight verification was successfully passed. The moment when the satellite was successfully launched not only created a new history, but also proved that the AIP made by NCU has leapt from the “rocket class” to the “satellite class.”
Building the Foundation for Space Science
Chao Chi-Kuang, Director of the Graduate Institute of Space Science at NCU, indicated that the team members participating in this scientific payload mission were all students educated at NCU. The whole process was from nothing to something, and everyone was growing through exploration. The experience cannot be learnt in any classes; thus it is very valuable. Particularly, the mission had to be operated in the harsh space environment; thus the students’ sensitivity of environmental limits must be extraordinary.
Besides scientific research, NCU was promoting “Senior High School Students Participating in the Satellite Mission” with the assistance from the National Space Organization, the Department of Education of Taoyuan City, and the Regional Education Resource Center for Taoyuan-Hsinchu-Miaoli. This project invited senior high school students living in Taoyuan City and interested in space science to participate in the FORMOSAT-5 Mission.
Eight students who had performed excellently were chosen at the end of the training. Led by NCU and Chung Ting-Kuo, Principal of Taoyuan Municipal Dayuan International Senior High School, the eight students went to the United States to personally participate in the launch mission on the spot where the satellite was launched. After feeling the presence of powerful vibration, they were all deeply impressed by the unforgettable experience.
