Alert: Don't Forget to Catch the Spaceship
Houston, Texas, and Taiwan are exploring potential cooperation in the realm of suborbital commercial spaceflight. The Houston Spaceport, a federally licensed commercial facility in Houston, could potentially reduce travel time between Houston and Taiwan from more than 13 hours to as little as two and a half hours.
The collaboration is in its preliminary stages, with no formal agreements yet. Initial focus is likely to be on cargo flights, given the prohibitive costs and physical challenges associated with suborbital passenger travel.
This partnership holds significant potential benefits for Taiwan. Economically, developing aerospace capabilities could help reduce Taiwan's heavy reliance on semiconductor exports, opening a strategic new industrial sector. Technologically, joint research and testing on materials and equipment under suborbital conditions could spur innovation valuable to aerospace engineers and meteorologists.
From a national security perspective, acquiring aerospace technology could strengthen Taiwan’s strategic position amid regional uncertainties, offering deterrence against increasing assertiveness from China. Internationally, partnering in cutting-edge space ventures with a U.S. city can enhance Taiwan's global stature and demonstrate its technological and economic ambitions in a geopolitically sensitive environment.
If the site at Jiupeng Village, Pingtung County's Manjhou Township, Taiwan, grows into a spaceport, Taiwan could emerge as a key regional hub for next-generation aviation. Suborbital flights could be used to test satellites, sensors, and components in space-like conditions, further bolstering Taiwan's aerospace sector.
Data gathered near the edge of space could be valuable to aerospace engineers and meteorologists, potentially leading to advancements in weather forecasting and climate modelling. Moreover, establishing an aerospace research hub in Taiwan, particularly one involving foreign researchers, could increase Taiwan's international profile.
Analysts have expressed concern that China might seek a swift and decisive capture of Taiwan, aiming to discourage foreign intervention. The rapid positioning of foreign forces in Taiwan, facilitated by aerospace technologies, could potentially raise the risk of direct conflict with China.
Partnering with Houston, a global centre for human spaceflight and related industries, is an opportunity Taiwan cannot afford to miss. Collaboration between Taiwanese and American researchers could begin at Jiupeng, focusing on materials and equipment testing, and assessing material durability during atmospheric re-entry.
As countries race for dominance in the information domain, aerospace technologies are vital for achieving air superiority and intelligence gathering. Taiwan's former president, Tsai Ing-wen, included aerospace and defense as part of her "five plus two" innovative industries plan in May 2016. With this new potential cooperation, Taiwan is poised to make significant strides in the aerospace sector.
[1] https://www.reuters.com/world/us/houston-texas-approaches-taiwan-potential-cooperation-suborbital-commercial-spaceflight-2021-05-25/ [2] https://www.space.com/spaceport-houston-space-tourism-2021-05-25.html [3] https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2021/05/25/2003754399
The partnership between Houston, Texas and Taiwan in suborbital commercial spaceflight could lead to significant advancements in Taiwan's aerospace sector, helping reduce its reliance on semiconductor exports and enhancing its international profile. Collaboration between Taiwanese and American researchers in materials and equipment testing, and assessing material durability during atmospheric re-entry, would be a key part of this arrangement.
