It's refreshing to see a truly indigenous rocket program. Unlike the South Korean and Indian rocket programs that are based on Russian engines, technologies, or Russian scientists/advisers/consultants, Taiwan's hybrid rocket technology is 100% indigenous. ---------- NCKU makes rocket launch breakthrough | Taiwan Today "NCKU makes rocket launch breakthrough Publication Dateï¼š03/26/2014 Sourceï¼š Taiwan Today A hybrid rocket designed by National Cheng Kung University is launched March 20 at the Shalun Farm test site in Tainan City, southern Taiwan. (Courtesy of NCKU) An interdisciplinary team from Taiwanâ€™s National Cheng Kung University successfully launched two small rockets at a testing ground near Tainan City in the south of the country, scoring breakthroughs in GPS technology and multistage rocket decoupling, NCKU announced March 25. The team, led by professor Juang Jyh-ching of Tainan City-based NCKUâ€™s Department of Electrical Engineering and supported by the rocket and satellite program of the ROC Ministry of Science and Technology, launched and recovered two small hybrid rockets March 20 at Shalun Farm in the city. Following the success, the team said it will attempt to launch a 1,000-kilogram rocket to a height of 30 kilometers in May. Many countries are currently researching hybrid rockets because of their low cost, greater safety and environmental friendliness, NCKU said. The universityâ€™s Aerospace Science and Technology Research Center and Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics have already had notable successes in developing this field. GPS systems are a critical component for accurately targeted rocket launch. Rockets are subject to extreme G-force as they accelerate, and GPS receivers commercially available in the market cannot be used on the rockets. The team used a high dynamic GPS receiver it developed that can withstand G-forces of more than 10 Gâ€™s and properly track Doppler frequency shift during the launch. Stage decoupling is a crucial process for any multistage rocket, with extremely reliable mechanisms a prerequisite, as later stages can only fire once expended fuel tanks have been jettisoned. The NCKU team successfully employed a V-shaped release mechanism. According to Juang, successful recovery of the rockets enables a full record of flight details to be retrieved. A high-altitude balloon was also released before the launch to obtain prevailing atmospheric temperature and wind conditions for use in subsequent analysis of the launch. More than 50 people participated in the launches. (SDH)" ---------- "Spaceflight Now | Breaking News | South Korea, Russia partner for ... Jan 30, 2013 - The 108-foot-tall Korea Satellite Launch Vehicle, or KSLV 1, ignited its Russian main engine at 0700 GMT (2 a.m. EST) and rose from a launch ..." ---------- Russia remembered with gratitude as India joins elite space club | Russia & India Report "Russia remembered with gratitude as India joins elite space club Arun Mohanty, specially for RIR January 10, 2014 It would not have been possible for India to make such significant forays into space without the tremendous support and cooperation extended by Russian scientists over the decades."