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National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) PhD candidate Angel B. Menéndez came to Taiwan from his native Guatemala on a full scholarship provided by the Taiwan government. For Taiwan, this was a wise financial choice as Menéndez first studied mechanical engineering, then Mandarin, and then became involved in the historic achievement of a Taiwanese space program; not with the official Taiwan Space Agency (TASA), but with a team of researchers at Tainan's NCKU. In 2017, they put a “nanosatellite” into orbit, a model of which is now on public display. They've since put up a few more and, due to Covid, Menéndez has recently been the only expat on the team. Hear Eryk chat with Angel about these remarkable achievements and the team’s plans for the future of Taiwan in space.
Cover photo shows an artist's rendering of a sunrise from space (image by Arek Socha from Pixabay)And, right: a model of the Phoenix, the first successful “nanosatellite” put into orbit by a team from Tainan's National Cheng Kung University (NCKU). Image via PhD candidate Angel B. Menéndez. The model is now on permanent display at the Kaohsiung Science Museum.
Click HERE to learn more about the Taiwan Space Agency (TASA).
Below:
1. Eryk, in the back, speaks with Angel B. Menéndez, front, about the pioneering work of a team of super smart folks from NCKU.
2. On permanent display: a model of the Phoenix (2017).
3. Coffee from Guatemala! A kind Xmas gift from Angel. Beans roasted in Taiwan.
What's a “nanosatellite?” HERE's what Wikipedia has to say.
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Check our very first episode, the story of a very white man who showed up in London in 1703... and claimed to be from Formosa. Or try a foodie episode from Season 3. Or, for those who want some harder-core history, hear the tale of the Lockheed U-2 pilot Wang Hsi-chueh 王錫爵, who became famous for defecting to the PRC by hijacking China Airlines Flight 334 on May 3, 1986.
