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 Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida. Headquartered at the nearby Patrick Space Force Base, the statio ...

, 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

References

External links