[Kanwa news Jan.27 Toronto] Taiwan's "Zhong Hua Satellite 1" is expected to be launched on January 27.

" Zhong Hua Satellite 1 " is among those so-called small satellites that will be popular in the 21st century. It weighs around 400 kilograms. (The large US or Russian reconnaissance satellites weigh over 10 tons and the Chinese military reconnaissance satellites weigh 2.5 tons or so.)

" Zhong Hua Satellite 1 " is equipped with an antenna and the Ka-band communication transmitters. It is estimated that there are several transmitters within the Ka band, which give the satellite the potential to be used for the military communication. The military communication satellite of the Chinese army (China Satellite 1) uses the C and Ku bands and within the Ku band, there are twenty transmitters used for the military communication. The purpose of Taiwan's deliberate adoption of the Ka band may be that it hopes to avoid the interference with each other.

According to the space development program of Taiwan, however, it is planned that 500 million US dollars will have been spent on the launch of three low-orbit scientific satellites by the year of 2005. " Zhong Hua Satellite 2 ", which is under development, may have a heavier weight and may be equipped with a large camera so that it will possess the potential for the military reconnaissance ( Satoko Tomiyama ).

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