FORMOSAT-2 products are available in 3 preprocessing levels

• Level 1A
  Radiometric corrections to remove distortions due to variations in sensitivity of elementary detectors in the imaging sensor.
• Level 2A
  Radiometric corrections identical to Level 1A. Geometric corrections to frame the image in a given map projection (default projection is UTM WGS 84).
• Ortho
  Radiometric corrections identical to Level 1A. Geometric corrections to frame the image in a map projection specified by the user and to remove relief distortions (map and/or control points and digital elevation model supplied by user).

FORMAT

Products are delivered in DIMAP format:

• Image in GeoTiff
• Metadata in XML

DELIVERY

• Posted online (FTP) within 48 - 72 working hours of acquisition
• CD-ROM/DVD if requested

FORMOSAT-2 Mapping Appli

FORMOSAT-2 Mapping Applications

FORMOSAT-2 satellite images support monitoring and detecting land change for any specific region for various industries and mapping applications. Users can task the satellite to keep track by scheduling revisits to detect changes on land and infrastructures, to observe movement overtime and helps to keep a current database to know what is happening on the ground so users can make informed decisions.

• Urban Land Utilization Monitoring
• Environment Monitoring and Planning
• Farm Crop Management
• Forest Management and Monitoring
• Disaster Area Evaluation
• Ecological Environment and Resources Research
• Tourism and Traveling
• Defense Mapping
• Coastal Management

FORMOSAT-2 Satellite Sensor Specifications

Resolution	2m panchromatic 8m multispectral
Launch Date	May 21, 2004 (Taiwan time)
Weight	Approximately 760 Kilograms
Size and Shape	Hexagonal, height 2.4 meters, outer radius approximately 1.6 meters (with solar panels folded)
Orbit	Sun-synchronous orbit at altitude of 891 kilometers, passes through Taiwan twice daily
Orbit Period	Approximately 103 minutes
Resolution	2 meters for black/white images 8 meters for color images
Image Swatch 24km	Limb view angle 45°, capable of capturing 3-D images
Mission Life	5 years

FORMOSAT-2 Satellite Sensor

The first remote sensing satellite developed by National Space Organization (NSPO), FORMOSAT-2, successfully launched on May 21, 2004 with a high resolution of 2 meter panchromatic data and 8 meter multispectral satellite image data. The main mission of FORMOSAT-2 is to conduct remote sensing imaging over Taiwan and on terrestrial and oceanic regions of the entire earth.

The images captured by FORMOSAT-2 during daytime can be used for land distribution, natural resources research, forestry, environmental protection, disaster prevention, rescue work, and other applications. When the satellite travels to the eclipsed zone, it will observe natural phenomena such as lighting in the upper atmosphere which can be used for further scientific experiments. FORMOSAT-2 carries both "remote sensing" and "scientific observation" tasks in its mission. The spacecraft is operating nominally as of 2006.

The FORMOSAT-2's Image Processing System (IPS) is independently developed by NSPO. It is designed to process images by tasking the satellite according to the user's needs. Images are then taken and downloaded through X-band antenna, then crossed with through IPS such as radiometric and geometric corrections and stored in computers. These files will be delivered to the end users based on the clients' requests.