Formosat-1 (福爾摩沙衛星一號, formerly known as ROCSAT-1) is an
Earth observation satellite
An Earth observation satellite or Earth remote sensing satellite is a satellite used or designed for Earth observation (EO) from orbit, including spy satellites and similar ones intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, me ...
operated by the National Space Program Office (NSPO, now the
National Space Organization
The National Space Organization (NSPO or NSO) is the national civilian space agency of the Republic of China (Taiwan), part of the National Applied Research Laboratories under the auspices of the Ministry of Science and Technology (Taiwan), ...
) of the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
(
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
) to conduct observations of the
ionosphere
The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth, from about to above sea level, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere. The ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation. It plays an ...
and
oceans
The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the worl ...
. The spacecraft and its instrumentation were developed jointly by NSPO and
TRW using TRW's
Lightsat bus, and was launched from
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station,
US, by
Lockheed Martin
The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...
on January 27, 1999. FormoSat-1 provided 5½ years of operational service. The spacecraft ended its mission on June 17, 2004 and was decommissioned on July 16, 2004.
Technical details
Spacecraft
*Weight: 401 kg
*Shape: Hexagonal
*Dimensions
**Height: 2.1 m
**Diameter: 1.1 m
*Solar arrays: Two, 1.16 x 2.46 m
*Electrical power: 450 watts
Instrumentation
*Experimental Communication Payload (ECP)
*Ionosphere Plasma Electrodynamics Instrument (IPEI)
*Ocean Color Imager (OCI)
Orbit
*Altitude: 600 km
*Type: Circular
*Inclination: 35 degrees
See also
*
FORMOSAT-2
*
FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC
References
External links
ROCSAT-1 at GlobalSecurity
Earth observation satellites of Taiwan
Spacecraft launched in 1999
First artificial satellites of a country
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