EP3-14 | AI News: FORMOSAT-8 Launch — Taiwan’s New Orbital Era

In late November 2025, Taiwan marked a significant milestone with the successful launch of the first satellite in the Formosat-8 constellation. Carried into a 561-km sun-synchronous orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, the “Chi Po-lin” satellite symbolizes both technical progress and cultural meaning, extending the late filmmaker’s aerial perspective of Taiwan into space. This mission inaugurates Taiwan’s first domestically built high-resolution Earth-observation constellation.

FORMOSAT-8 will eventually consist of eight satellites deployed between 2025 and 2031. With native 1-meter resolution—improving to roughly 70 centimeters for two advanced units—the constellation will provide multiple daily revisits over Taiwan. Importantly, about 84% of each satellite’s core components are manufactured in Taiwan, covering optics, structures, propulsion, and electronics. This demonstrates the country’s ambition to develop a self-reliant industrial base for space technologies.

The episode also explores the broader global landscape. The value of the global space economy reached USD 570 billion in 2023 and is projected to exceed USD 1 trillion within the decade. Reusable rockets from SpaceX and Blue Origin, mega-constellations such as Starlink and OneWeb, and commercial imaging companies like Planet Labs and ICEYE are reshaping how nations communicate, observe Earth, and respond to climate and security challenges.

In this episode, we examine what Formosat-8 means for Taiwan’s space capabilities, how global players are redefining the space economy, and why satellite technology is becoming essential infrastructure for connectivity, environmental monitoring, disaster response, and national security. Taiwan’s emerging participation in this ecosystem reflects both technological ambition and a strategic need for resilience in an increasingly complex world.

2025 年 11 月底，臺灣太空發展迎來重要進展。福衛八號首顆衛星搭載 SpaceX Falcon 9 成功進入 561 公里太陽同步軌道，正式啟動臺灣第一組自製高解析度遙測衛星星座。以導演齊柏林命名的首枚衛星象徵「從空中看臺灣」的精神延伸至太空，也展現臺灣提升自主太空能力的決心。

福衛八號採「6＋2」配置，從 2025 至 2031 年將部署八顆衛星，其原生解析度達 1 公尺，部分可提升至約 70 公分，並具備每日多次回訪臺灣的能力。約 84% 的技術與零組件由臺灣研發製造，涵蓋光學、結構、推進與電子系統，意味著本土太空產業正逐步形成完整供應鏈。

本集節目也將延伸至全球脈動。2023 年全球太空經濟規模已達 5,700 億美元，預估本世代內有望突破 1 兆美元。從 SpaceX、Blue Origin 的可重複使用火箭，到 Starlink、OneWeb 的全球通訊網，再到 Planet Labs 與 ICEYE 的商業遙測服務，太空已成為通訊、氣候、國安與產業韌性的核心基礎設施。

在這集節目中，我們帶你理解福衛八號的技術進展、全球太空產業的競逐，以及臺灣如何藉由自主研發與國際合作，在新興太空經濟中建立關鍵角色。