Taiwan releases 1st images from Formosat-8A satellite
台灣公開福衛八號衛星拍攝的首批影像
| TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Taiwan Space Agency on Wednesday released the first high-resolution images from its Formosat-8A satellite, capturing Hsinchu Science Park, Tainan’s Anping District, Kaohsiung’s Xingda Harbor, Tokyo’s National Stadium, and Barcelona Airport.
Formosat-8A, also called the “Chi Po-lin Satellite” in honor of the late Taiwanese documentary filmmaker Chi Po-lin (齊柏林), was launched on Nov. 29, 2025, per CNA. After functional verification, orbital maneuvers, and over 100 imaging tests, it began official imaging missions in January, with the first results released ahead of the Lunar New Year. TASA said the images were validated using a standard commonly used by the US military, confirming the original resolution met the 1-meter specification. Post-processing further enhanced the images to 0.7-meter resolution, exceeding the abilities of its predecessor, Formosat-5. The images cover coastal areas, cities, and airports, showing details such as boat wakes in Anping District and water layers and ripples in Xingda Port Harbor. Urban imagery includes TASA’s own Hsinchu facility, Tokyo National Stadium, Meiji Jingu Baseball Stadium, and Barcelona Airport. Airports are key verification targets, and the images clearly show aircraft and vehicles with sharp building contours. This demonstrates the satellite’s performance in urban observation and detail recognition. National Science and Technology Council Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said the satellite marks a major step for Taiwan in the international space industry. Its success proves Taiwan can independently develop satellites and components, emphasizing both Made in Taiwan and Created in Taiwan. TASA Director-General Wu Jong-shinn (吳宗信) said achieving 1-meter resolution took eight years of effort. He added that the satellite contains 16 domestically produced components, highlighting Taiwan’s industrial capabilities. Project leader Cynthia Liu (劉小菁) said the mission shows Taiwan’s optical satellite technology is advancing toward sub-meter capability. The satellite’s panchromatic, multispectral, and red-edge imagery enables precision agriculture and enhanced monitoring of forests, biodiversity, and water environments. The late director’s son Chi Ting-huan (齊廷洹) expressed amazement at the satellite’s initial results. He looks forward to future collaboration with TASA to continue documenting Taiwan’s landscapes and key events, allowing more people to “fly over Taiwan.” Formosat-8 is TASA’s first domestically produced optical remote sensing constellation, consisting of eight satellites. Six have 1-meter resolution, and two have sub-meter resolution. The constellation will gradually deploy, providing up to three daily passes over Taiwan. The second satellite, Formosat-8B, has completed assembly and will undergo environmental tests, with launch aboard a SpaceX rocket planned for the end of this year. |
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| Keoni Everington Taiwan News, Staff Writer | |
| 2026-02-12 |
