TAIWAN LOOKING TO EUROPE FOR SATELLITES?

S E C R E T AIT TAIPEI 002926

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

STATE PASS EC/NP CHRIS KESSLER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/17/2016
TAGS: TSPA PREL ETTC ECON CH TW
SUBJECT: TAIWAN LOOKING TO EUROPE FOR SATELLITES?

REF: TAIPEI 02379

Classified By: AIT DDIR ROBERT WANG FOR REASONS 1.4 B/D


1. (S/NF) SUMMARY. This is an action cable see para 6.
National Space Program Office (NSPO) Director Lance Wu
complained to AIT that USG restrictions on Taiwan access to
flight software complicates control of Formosat-3. He
appealed for help in obtaining access to the software,
suggesting that Taiwan may well seek non-U.S. sources for
future satellite projects. Wu told AIT that he recently
talked with Swedish aerospace companies at Kiruna about a
joint venture to launch micro-satellites. He mentioned
delays in the "Cyclops" high-resolution satellite program
(reftel) and funding shifts to the Ministry of National
Defense (MND) and away from the National Science Council
(NSC).

FORMOSAT 3 AND LACK OF FLIGHT SOFTWARE
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2. (S/NF) NSPO Director Lance Wu told AIT during a lunch
meeting on August 8 that the Formosat-3 program, which put
6 Taiwan satellites into orbit in May, is hobbled by U.S.
refusal to share the flight data software. Wu said the USG
restrictions require painstaking ground control to avoid
overheating during battery recharging and the solar panels
cannot be fully extended lest they generate too much heat.
Wu also complained that the proper sequence to fire the
thrusters to position the satellites must be done on a
trial and error basis. All these glitches, Wu added, could
be easily solved with the flight software. Manual control
of the flight orbit has increased the fuel expenditure of
the satellites and shortened their life. Wu said the
flight software is not "secret" yet U.S. agencies did not
permit Orbital Sciences Corporation to release this
information to NSPO.

NSPO TOLD TO LOOK ELSEWHERE FOR FUTURE PROJECTS
-------------- --


3. (S/NF) Wu said that as a result of the problems
experienced with Formosat-3 he had been told by higher ups
(unspecified) at NSC to look for non-U.S. partners in future
satellite projects. Wu declined to say which non-U.S.
companies he has approached to date. Wu said that the
French-built Formosat-2 came with the flight software and
therefore NSPO had experienced none of the problems
associated with Formosat-3. Wu said NSPO wants to continue
the business partnership with the U.S. on the Cyclops program
because the U.S. has allowed Taiwan more coverage over
sensitive areas scanned by the satellite (read PRC) than had
the Europeans. However, he said the lack of cooperation on
flight software did not bode well for future contracts with
U.S. satellite manufacturers.

CYCLOPS AND LEGISLATOR INTERFERENCE
--------------


4. (S/NF) Wu was very guarded about the status of the
Cyclops project, a high resolution remote sensing satellite
to be built in the U.S. (reftel). Wu said that because
funding for Cyclops comes from the NSC, the budget is
available to the Legislative Yuan (LY) and various
legislators have been pushing for a particular contractor to
get the project. He said one way to avoid legislative
interference of this kind is to shift the project and funding
to the Ministry of National Defense (MND). MND funding, he
suggested, would not be open for discussion in the LY.
Nevertheless, he said the failure of Taiwan to obtain flight
software for FORMOSAT -3 means there is a possibility that
contracts would be awarded to non-U.S. sources. He said that
a decision would have to be made by October 2006 whether to
continue cooperation with U.S. companies on this project.

MICRO-SATELLITES: SWEDISH MECHANICS COUPLED WITH TAIWAN
ELECTRONICS
-------------- --------------



5. (S/NF) Wu said he had just returned from a 10-day trip to
the city of Kiruna in northern Sweden where he consulted with
Swedish aerospace companies about possible satellite joint
ventures. Kiruna provides ground equipment to support
operational control of many international satellites,
including Formosat-2. Wu noted Swedish expertise in
micromechanical electrical systems (MEMS) complements Taiwan
expertise in micro integrated electronic components and would
facilitate the building of micro-satellites at one tenth the
cost of satellites built by the U.S. Without providing any
specifics, Wu said he envisions working with the Swedes to
build micro-satellites about the size of a laptop, equipped
with specific sensors that could be launched 30 at a time,
possibly via a SPACE-X launcher. Wu said he had not informed
his superiors at the National Science Council about this idea
but that it would likely be funded internally by NSPO. Wu
hoped to be able to launch within three years and he was
expecting Swedish scientists to visit NSPO in late August.

COMMENT and ACTION REQUEST
--------------


6. (S/NF) AIT believes that Wu is overly optimistic about
his chances of cooperation with European and other non-U.S.
satellite sources. Wu knows that Taiwan needs to continue
cooperation with U.S. satellite service providers because
this is the only way Taiwan will be able to get coverage of
sensitive areas on mainland China. We are not in a position
to assess the ability of Taiwan to work with Swedish firms to
develop micro-satellites on its own. However, Wu in this and
reftel conversation has strongly suggested that at least some
elements of the Taiwan authorities are intent on seeking
non-U.S. sources to develop their satellite program. We
request Washington agencies' guidance on appropriate
responses to the issues raised by Wu. END COMMENT

YOUNG