The Taiwan Space Agency has successfully launched its self-built satellite
into orbit.

TASA says the "PARUS-T2" CubeSat launch occurred at 5:25am Taiwan time today
from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Named after a bird endemic to Taiwan, the satellite was carried by a SpaceX
rocket, and entered low-Earth orbit around 130 minutes after liftoff.

It is expected to communicate with Taiwan ground stations around 10PM tonight.

TASA says "PARUS-T2"'s primary mission is to optimize the performance of the
CubeSat itself through intensive experiments, aiming to improve its
reliability and offer a stable platform for industry and academia.



TASA also announced that the next satellite in the PARUS series, the
PARUS-6U1, is scheduled to launch in October on another SpaceX flight.

That flight will also carry Taiwan's Formosat-8A satellite and several other
Taiwanese CubeSats developed by various companies and universities.

(NS)