A Proposed Approach for NewSpace Industry Development in Taiwan

Space development in Taiwan is much later than that of many traditional space-fairing countries. Before the 1990s, Taiwan's space activities focused on satellite TV and receiving meteorological and remote sensing data from other countries. In 1990, space development in Taiwan was divided into 3 paths, the first was geosynchronous orbit communication satellites operated by Chunghwa Telecom and Singapore Telecom, the second was the FORMOSA Satellite developed by National Space Organization (NSPO), and the third was Cubesats developed by local universities. Except for Cubesates, all of Taiwan's satellites were acquired from foreign countries. Until 2017, the launch of Taiwan's first self-made high-resolution optical remote sensing satellite marked a new milestone in the history of space development in Taiwan. Based on this achievement, Taiwan government officially approved the "Third Phase National Space Plan" in 2019. One of the important goals of this plan is to promote the establishment of the Taiwan space industry. In addition to the traditional space sector, some entrepreneurs in Taiwan have also taken advantage of this "NewSpace" wave and have set up new space companies. Compared with the past, the Taiwan space industry has changed dramatically in recent years. To grasp the overall picture of the development of the Taiwan space industry, the NSPO also conducted the Taiwan space industry survey since 2017. The survey covers both traditional and NewSpace companies. The space industry is a high value-added industry, but it is also an industry with a high investment amount and high risks. Therefore, how to formulate related incentives and regulations and other supporting measures to effectively promote the space industry is a topic that many emerging space nations must face. Same situation has also occurred in Taiwan. This study aims to propose a model (or a group of strategies) for the development of Taiwan's NewSpace Industry. The main parts of this article are an introduction of Taiwan's space development and the challenges and opportunities faced by Taiwan's NewSpace industry, as well as a proposal of development strategies and measures for Taiwan's NewSpace industry. Throughout, this study puts forward suggestions to propose strategies for Taiwan's NewSpace industry, with a view to building a model for emerging space countries to establish a NewSpace industry.