Abstract
The FORMOSAT-2 (was called ROCSAT-2 formerly) of Taiwan is a small satellite of 746 kg mass for two remote sensing missions with 5 years in the designed mission life. Its mission orbit is sun-synchronous of 891 km altitude for exactly 14 revolutions per day. For earth observation, the payload is an advanced high resolution remote sensing instrument (RSI) with ground sampling distance (GSD) 2 m in panchromatic (PAN) band and 8 m in four multi-spectral (MS) bands. For upward lightning observation, the payload is an imager of sprites and upper atmospheric lightning (ISUAL). Launch date of FORMOSAT-2 was on 20 May 2004. After 5 years of mission operations in orbit, i.e., 100% of the mission life, its worldwide effectiveness in the international cooperation and contribution in Earth observation is very pronounced. This paper assesses the global effectiveness of FORMOSAT-2 based on the following two areas: international cooperation and international contribution. We discuss the two areas from the following different aspects: satellite development, Earth science and ecological niche research, preservation of the world heritages, contribution to the International Charter: space and major disasters, observation of suspected North Korea and Iran nuclear facilities, and scientific observation of the atmospheric transient luminous events (TLEs). It is concluded that FORMOSAT-2's global effectiveness in both international cooperation and contribution in Earth observation is definite. Its development and operation is very valuable to the whole world.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 211-218 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Journal of Aeronautics, Astronautics and Aviation |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Publication status | Published - 2009 Jan 1 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Aerospace Engineering
- Space and Planetary Science