Program Description

The FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2 (simplified as FORMOSAT-7 in the following descriptions) is a major collaborative space program between Taiwan and the U.S. In this collaborative program, the designated representative for Taiwan is TASA (Taiwan Space Agency) and the designated representative for the U.S. is NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). The FORMOSAT-7 program is a follow-on program to the successful FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC program with upgraded performance for spacecraft bus and mission payload. The United States is responsible for satellite launches, payloads, and deployment of global ground receiving stations; the US team includes NOAA, the United States Air Force, and UCAR (The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research). Taiwan is responsible for the design and integration of mission systems, development of 6 spacecrafts, and constellation mission operations; the Taiwan team includes TASA, Central Weather Bureau, National Central University, and National Cheng Kung University. Data processing and application technology development are developed by the two parties in cooperation.

The FORMOSAT-7 satellites was launched by SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on June 25, 2019, at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA. 

All six satellites of FORMOSAT-7 constellation were launched into a 720-km circular orbit. These satellites will be gradually transferred to their 550-km mission orbits and deployed to six different orbital planes through the scheduled orbit transfer by 2021 Q1.

FORMOSAT-7 constellation: one satellite per orbital plane

The data distribution simulation for 24-hr coverage by FORMOSAT-7 constellation

FORMOSAT-7 is equipped with a GNSS-R, which can receive GPS signals from the United States and GLONASS signals from Russia. By measuring radio occultation signals, atmospheric parameters such as humidity and humidity, and the electron concentration of the ionosphere can be derived. 
After the deployment of the FORMOSAT-7 constellation with the altitude of 550 kilometers and the inclination angle of 24 degrees, all six satellites orbit the earth for about 97 minutes. They can provide about 4,000 data per day between 50 degrees north and south latitudes. The amount of data in the vicinity of Taiwan is about 3 to 4 times that of FORMOSAT-3, which greatly increases meteorological data in low-latitude regions including Taiwan. Observation data provided by CWB of Ministry of Communications can be incorporated in a numerical forecasting system to improve the accuracy of domestic weather forecasts and the forecast accuracy of severe weather (including typhoon paths and rainfall). FORMOSAT-7 can provide an average of 4,000 points of atmospheric data every day, which is of great help to weather forecast, climate observation, and space weather monitoring.

Satellite

The 6 mission satellite buses of FORMOSAT-7 are built by Surrey Satellite Technology Limited(SSTL). TASA is responsible to integrate the bus and payload instruments. The satellite has the following characteristics :

International Cooperation

TASA is responsible for satellite operations control center, launch and early orbit operations, orbit maneuver operations, and mission operations as defined in Implementing TECRO/AIT Arrangement#1. A satellite operation control system (Cross Platform Satellite Operation Control System, XPSOC), developed by TASA and domestic companies, will be applied to FORMOSAT-7 mission operations.

The data latency requirement is 30 minutes (median) so that distribution of the ground stations is as shown below. The U.S. Team is responsible for deployment of stations, include Guam, Darwin, Mauritius, Kuwait, Ghana, Cuiaba, Honduras and Hawaii.