Taiwan's first locally made weather satellite Triton has successfully communicated with the ground station after launching into orbit on Monday. It is expected to start transmitting meteorological data in a few weeks, according to The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC).
The NSTC says the data from Triton, also known as Wind Hunter, will be handed over to Taiwan’s academic community and the Central Weather Administration (CWA) for research and application. Global users can also download the information from the Taiwan Data Processing Center of the CWA.
The Triton was launched aboard the French Arianespace Vega rocket just after 9.30 a.m. on Monday, Taiwan time. It successfully communicated its safety with the Taiwan ground station at 8:56 p.m.
NSTC Minister Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) says that it was exciting to receive the safety report from Triton. He looks forward to the implementation of subsequent missions and the contribution to global meteorological science and weather forecasting.