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Taiwan Awards Matra-Marconi Satellite Contract
Taipei (AFP) December 13, 1999 - Taiwan has awarded French company Matra-Marconi Space a satellite contract worth 2.37 billion Taiwan dollars (75 million US), an official said Thursday, after a deal with a German company was scrapped. Huang Chen-tai, chairman of the National Science Council which oversees the island's space program, said the contract with Matra was agreed on November 29. "The French-made satellite must be as good as the one DASA Dornier contracted to make while its price is even lower," Huang said. DASA Dornier beat Matra earlier this year with a 2.71 billion Taiwan dollar bid but the deal was scuttled on November 5 after the German firm failed to obtain the required export license. Huang said in October that Beijing had intervened in the deal with DASA Dornier. "Through their diplomatic channels, the Chinese communists pressured the German government to stop giving the needed export license," he was quoted by the China Times as saying. The paper said the German government decided not to give the license "in order not to further exacerbate its ties with Beijing." Beijing opposes all arms sales to Taiwan, which it has regarded as a breakaway province since their separation in 1949 at the end of a civil war. Huang said construction of the "ROCSAT-2" satellite was to begin next week and it should go into orbit within three and a half years. Matra has subcontracted six Taiwanese firms to supply components including flight software, S-band antenna and computer equipment. Taiwan in October 1991 launched a 15-year space program at an estimated cost of 13.6 billion Taiwan dollars (428.2 million US). Its first fully owned science satellite ROCSAT-1 was put into orbit in January. It also aims to put into orbit eight micro-satellites weighing about 40 kilograms (85 pounds) each. A 50-50 joint venture communications satellite with Singapore was launched in late August 1998 at a cost of 240 million US dollars. Copyright 1999 AFP. All rights reserved. The material on this page is provided by AFP and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Related Links
Becalmed In The Solar Doldrums
Los Alamos - December 13, 1999 - For three days last May, scientists at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology watched as the solar wind all but disappeared. |
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