Roles of Taiwan’s Universities on Earth Observation

Paper number

IAC-05-E1.2.07

Author

Dr. Jeng-Shing Chern, National Space Organization, Taiwan, China

Year

2005

Abstract

FORMOSAT-2 (formerly called ROCSAT-2) is the first Earth observation satellite owned by Taiwan. It is a high resolution remote sensing satellite with 2 m ground sampling distance (GSD) for panchromatic band and 8 m GSD for multi spectral bands. After successful launch on 20 May 2004, the check-out and commissioning of the satellite had been completed in July of the same year. Started from August 2004, the National Space Organization (NSPO) of Taiwan initiated a business to sale the images taken by FORMOSAT-2. As a first step, some universities in Taiwan were invited to participate with relative low and affordable price.
   The Center of Space and Remote Sensing Research Center (CSRSR) of National Central University (NCU) has 25 years of experience in satellite image processing and application. Therefore, NCU is the first university invited by NSPO. Before FORMOSAT-2, CSRSR was used to receive images from SPOT and LandSat series of satellites. Main purposes are for student education and general public education.
   The second school invited is the National Cheng Kung University (NCKU). There are two centers in NCKU related to satellite image application, one is Satellite Information Center and the other is Disaster Prevention and Rescue Center. A data terminal has been installed which is now receiving FORMOSAT-2 data regularly everyday. After the attack of each typhoon, NCKU uses satellite images to provide disaster information for the purposes of rescue and evaluation.
   Two more schools have already joined the work. They are National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) and National Taiwan University (NTU). Another one is planning to join soon. It is the Cultural University. The main purpose is to establish a digital model for the Earth. NSPO plans to invite a total of 10 universities to participate.
   The purpose of this paper is to introduce NSPO’s concept on how to build an Earth observation network among the universities in Taiwan. Each university can develop its own expertise so that the limited information obtained from FORMOSAT-2 can be used extensively.  

Abstract document

IAC-05-E1.2.07.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-05-E1.2.07.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

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