The first one will be launched in 2026
Taiwan plans to launch its first own communications satellite in 2026 with the help of Elon Musk's SpaceX.
The launch of the first satellite is scheduled for 2026, and the second will be launched in 2028. The satellite will be built by Taiwan itself, while the Ka-band communications equipment will be created in cooperation with a foreign supplier. The second satellite will be created by TASA and the Industrial Technology Research Institute, which is developing 4G and 5G communication systems.
About $28 million in funding has been allocated for these satellites. By the end of the year, a tender will be announced to launch four more satellites. The program manager said that six satellites would not be enough to provide continuous communication for 24 hours. Taiwan needs at least 120 such devices.
Previously it became known that Taiwan entered into an agreement with the British OneWeb, which promised to provide the island with Internet communications in the event of a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. For this purpose, it is planned to build more than 700 ground-based satellite communication terminals to test the technology.