Taiwanese leaders are working on an ambitious new satellite system to keep the island online in the event of a disaster, while facing the constant threat from China, CNN reports.
Wu Jong-shinn, director general of the Taiwan Space Agency (TASA), told CNN that Taiwan is in an “experimental development stage” in efforts to build new domestic communications satellites.
Once the system is operational, it could work in a similar way to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system in terms of providing Internet access — albeit on a much smaller scale, said Wu, who led Taiwan’s space programs from 2021.
Starlink, operated by Musk’s SpaceX, uses a network of thousands of satellites to provide internet to users around the world, including in areas where conventional connections are not available.
It was used by the Ukrainian army on the battle fronts, while defending against the Russian invasion. In Gaza, devastated by the war waged by Israel against Hamas, it allowed the staff of a field hospital to conduct video medical consultations in real time.
But Taiwan does not have access to Starlink because SpaceX has insisted on majority ownership of a proposed joint venture, a claim incompatible with Taiwan’s local laws. This was one of the reasons why Taiwan developed its own technology.
“The communications satellite is very important to our communications resilience in times of emergency,” Wu said, calling it his agency’s most sensitive project. “It’s very important to us, so we take it very, very seriously,” he added.
The unique geopolitical landscape and the location of Taiwan, approximately 160 kilometers from the coast of China, add urgency to an ambitious project. The ruling Chinese Communist Party claims the island as part of its territory and has repeatedly promised to conquer it by force if necessary.
Currently, Taiwan’s connectivity is provided by 15 submarine internet cables that connect it to the rest of the world. But these cables are susceptible to damage. Last year, a group of Taiwan’s outlying islands were cut off from the Internet for weeks after two submarine cables connecting them to the main island of Taiwan were damaged by passing ships.
High-speed Internet is essential for the normal functioning of any society, but in the case of Taiwan, a deliberate attempt to sabotage the system could have other repercussions. In an analysis published by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a research body affiliated with the Taiwanese government, experts warned that if Beijing were to cut internet cables around Taiwan, it could disrupt normal communications and cause panic. widely.
Taiwanese authorities previously announced that the space agency would develop two communications satellites, the first of which could be launched by 2026. However, Taiwan would need to send hundreds of satellites if it wanted to create a system that would provide uninterrupted access to the internet backup, experts told CNN.
Brad Tucker, an astrophysicist at the Australian National University, estimated that Taiwan would need at least 50 satellites to provide “fairly decent” emergency coverage with its own satellite constellation.
