Taipei: Taiwan's first Formosat-8 satellite is expected to lift off on Nov. 11 at 2:18 a.m. Taiwan time, the Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) announced Tuesday night. In a Facebook post, the agency said the satellite will be carried by a rocket on the Transporter-15 mission, after a month of preparations by TASA staff who have gone to the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

According to Focus Taiwan, the satellite, named the "Chi Po-lin Satellite" after the late Taiwanese documentary director known for recording Taiwan through aerial imagery, will be the first of eight satellites to make up the first Taiwan-made satellite constellation. The satellite, developed by TASA, has a resolution of under one meter, which is an improvement over the currently orbiting Formosat-5, allowing for clearer Earth observations. The constellation setup will also enable more frequent data collection.

The satellite is equipped with a dual-band imager featuring an atmospheric transient sensor and electron temperature and density probe developed by a National Cheng Kung University team. This will enable it to assist with research on the origins and triggers of terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, as well as conduct ionosphere observations, the agency said.

TASA announced it will livestream the launch of the satellite on its Facebook and YouTube pages from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. on Nov. 11. The Formosat-8 constellation is expected to be fully deployed in 2031, and will "support disaster management, national security and global collaboration," according to a TASA video released in October to introduce the program.