The largest international satellite and space exhibition in the world, Satellite 2023, was held in Washington, D.C. from March 14 to March 16. To carry out the National Science and Technology Council's policies and to accelerate the development of the country's space technology, Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) and the Industrial Development Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs brought together 14 companies from Taiwan's space industry to create the "Taiwan Space" booth at the event to showcase the country's R&D and manufacturing capabilities, as well as to secure orders from international customers.

Over 350 businesses across the world participated at the exhibition. These included well-known low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite operators SpaceX, OneWeb and Telesat, and also long-established geosynchronous satellite operators such as SES, Iridium Communications and Intelsat, as well as aerospace manufacturers such as Airbus, Boeing, Kymeta, and Thales.

TASA said that next-generation communications, aviation, and satellite technologies were featured at Satellite 2023, and 35 latest products from these industries were represented at the event, including critical components and materials for satellites, key modules and components for next-generation communications systems, remote sensing payload subsystems, ground user terminal equipment, and fast measurement and calibration systems.

Over the past two years, the Industrial Development Bureau has provided support, via subsidized topical programs, to companies with respect to their R&D efforts into LEO satellite terminal equipment and crucial technologies, including satellite terminals for household, automotive, maritime, and aircraft applications. Companies such as Tron Future Tech, Rapidtek, Auden Techno, Pyras Technology, TMY Technology, and Universal Micro have made significant breakthroughs, an indication that Taiwan's satellite industry players are now moving forward to assume high-value-added roles in the supply chain.

The best of the best of Taiwanese satellite products were showcased at Satellite 2023. In the area of satellite communications equipment, Tron Future Tech introduced its latest flat-panel glass mobile satellite terminals for vehicles and also its newest synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and satellite communications payload solutions, aiming to become a major supplier in the enormous market for automotive terminals and satellite communications payloads.

Rapidtek is targeting the commercial satellite market, and the company featured highly customizable phased array antennas and fixed terminals for LEO satellites at the exhibition. Pyras Technology, which is one of the few companies in Taiwan with space flight heritage, also introduced its all-in-one maritime antenna systems, ground remote sensing control base stations, and satellite spiral antennas.

Meanwhile, this year TMY Technology unveiled a new solution featuring millimeter-wave dual-polarization Antenna-on-Chip (AoC) technology, a low-loss, high-reliability and durable solution. The company also introduced its aviation array antennas, currently still in development. This is a testament to Taiwan’s abundant energy and capability for technological innovation.

In addition, several vendors of key components and subsystems also featured their latest products with impressive specifications, including Azure Shine International's Mini-VSATs (Very Small Aperture Terminals), antennas conforming to the Direct-to-Home (DTH) specifications for home satellite communications, satellite communications timing modules from Taitien Electronics, millimeter-wave power amplifiers from Transcom, satellite network IoT technology from Wha Yu Industrial, advanced satellite image-processing technology from Liscotech System, micro-high-speed space-based data memory from ULinkSat Space Technology, multi-layer anti-radiation metal protective coating from Fair Power Technologies, and satellite hinges from Fositek.

The exhibition also showcased the capabilities of Taiwanese vendors in the area of measurement for the first time. One example is Ohmplus Technology's fast measurement and automatic calibration system for phased array antennas, which operates at ten times the usual speed. Another is WavePro Technology's antenna test range for testing and calibrating RF receiving antennas for radars. These technologies will in the future enable satellite products to achieve mass production more quickly and to perform testing and calibration more efficiently.

At Satellite 2023, the Taiwan Space booth also held multiple one-on-one exchange and vendor-customer matching activities on a daily basis, arranging business meetings between several well-known international aerospace industry manufacturers, including OneWeb, Airbus and Kymeta, and Taiwanese companies. The government will continue to provide assistance to the country's satellite industry to improve and expand its overseas marketing operations and to enable Taiwanese vendors to play a more critical role in the global supply chain.