Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 15, 2026

Formosat-2

Formosat-2 is a decommissioned Earth observation satellite formerly operated by the National Space Organization (NSPO) of Taiwan. It was a high-resolution photographic surveillance satellite with a daily revisit capability. Images are commercially available from Astrium.

Last revised
Jun 15, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
234 w
Citations
9
Source
Formosat-2
The model of Formosat-2
NamesROCSAT-2
Mission typeEarth observation
OperatorNSPO
COSPAR ID2004-018A
SATCAT no.28254Edit this on Wikidata
Mission duration12 years
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerNSPO
Launch mass750 kg (1,650 lb)1
Start of mission
Launch date19 May 2004 17:47 UTC1
RocketTaurus XL
Launch siteVandenberg Air Force Base
End of mission
Deactivated19 August 20162
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeSun-synchronous

Formosat-2 (Chinese: 福爾摩沙衛星二號, formerly known as ROCSAT-2) is a decommissioned Earth observation satellite formerly operated by the National Space Organization (NSPO) of Taiwan. It was a high-resolution photographic surveillance satellite with a daily revisit capability.3 Images are commercially available from Astrium (formerly Spot Image).

Launch

Formosat-2 was launched on 19 May 2004, 17:47 UTC from Vandenberg Air Force Base aboard a Taurus XL rocket.1 It had been delivered to the United States in December 2003, and had a scheduled launch date on 17 January 2004.4 The launch was continually delayed until May 2004.56 Formosat-2 was decommissioned in August 2016.2

See also

See also

References

References

  1. "Rocsat 2 - NSSDC ID: 2004-018A". NASA.
  2. Chen, Wei-han (22 August 2016). "Aged Formosat-2 decommissioned". Taipei Times. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  3. "Formosat-2 images". Spot Image. Archived from the original on 2012-08-06.
  4. Chiu, Yu-Tzu (2 December 2003). "Taiwan's new satellite on its way". Taipei Times. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  5. Chiu, Yu-Tzu (26 February 2004). "Postponing ROCSAT-2 launch not an election issue: NSC". Taipei Times. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  6. Chiu, Yu-Tzu (22 May 2004). "ROCSAT-2 gets off the ground". Taipei Times. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
External links