A U.S.-Taiwan weather satellite system has dropped 40 km in altitude in the past two years, affecting its ability to collect and send back data.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00This is Formosat-7, a joint satellite project between Taiwan's National Space Agency
00:06and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
00:10It's a constellation of six remote-sensing microsatellites
00:14collecting atmospheric data for weather prediction
00:17and conduct climate, atmosphere and gravity research.
00:21The system was launched from Florida in 2019
00:24and placed in orbit 550 kilometers above Earth.
00:28However, since 2022, it's struggled to stay in position.
00:52The drop is partly due to the solar magnetic cycle,
00:55an 11-year periodic change in the sun's activity.
01:18The problem is, Formosat-7 can only take accurate atmospheric measurements
01:22at a certain altitude.
01:24It means scientists need to make sure the satellites stay in place
01:28by releasing gas from the internal cylinders to push them higher again.
01:32In 2023, they did this twice, increasing the altitude by 15 kilometers.
01:37And it's not the only problem caused by the solar cycle.
01:41High-speed and high-energy particles generated by the solar storms
01:45and other space weather changes can also affect the satellite's electronics.
01:54When a solar storm occurs, we turn off the satellite,
01:57restart it, or put it in safe mode.
02:00Then we do a follow-up detection.
02:03If the satellite is normal, we let it work again.
02:06In the past two years, the frequency has slightly increased,
02:09but we've been able to solve it quickly.
02:12Despite the issues, Formosat-7 still sends back about 4,000 pieces of data each day,
02:18which is a big help for weather forecasting, climate observation
02:22and monitoring conditions in space.
02:24James Lin and Sanei Chi for Time Plus.