Formosat-8
Taiwanese earth observation satellites
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Formosat-8 is a constellation of Taiwanese earth observation satellites under development by Taiwan Space Agency.
| |||
| Country of origin |  Taiwan | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Taiwan Space Agency | ||
| Production | |||
| Planned | 8 | ||
| Launched | 1 | ||
| Operational | 1 | ||
| Maiden launch | 28 November 2025 | ||
| |||
History
The program builds off of Formosat-5, a remote imaging satellite which was launched in 2017.[1] In 2024 it was announced that the domestic parts would make up 80% of the satellites.[2][3] The Formosat-8 program was praised by Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te during a May 2025 visit to the program office.[4]
The first launch was innitially planned for October, 2025 via SpaceX.[1][5][6] In early October the first satellite was flown to the United States with a new expected launch date in November.[7] The launch was delayed by the 2025 United States federal government shutdown[8] to 28 November 2025.[9]
Payloads
Six of eight satellites are planned to fly high resolution optical payloads with less than 1m resolution and two satellites are planned to fly at with 1m resolution payloads.[10]
Team
As of 2025 Cynthia Liu was the project manager.[10]
Satellites
Launches begun in 2025[9] and are expected to end in 2031.[11] FORMOSAT-8C and 8D will be launched by Avio's Vega C rockets from the Guiana Space Centre.[12]
Formosat-8A
The first satellite in the constellation is Formosat-8A (FS-8A).[13][11] It was launched on 28 November 2025 on the Falcon 9 mission Transporter-15 from Vandenberg Space Force Base.[9] The satellite is named after Chi Po-lin in honor of the Taiwanese photographer and filmmaker who died in a tragic helicopter accident in 2017.[14]
Formosat-8B
FS-8B is expected to be launched in December 2026.[12]
