Disappointment Immediately after Liftoff

Taiwan's PARUS T1A satellite was to become one of the newest FM repeaters in space but it never got a chance. The rocket launch was aborted by Japanese startup Space One right after liftoff on Wednesday, December 17th. The rocket destroyed itself, according to news reports. Engineer Mamoru Endo, a company executive, said that an autonomous safety mechanism triggered the destruction, likely after a first-stage engine or control system abnormality caused the rocket to become unstable.

Hams worldwide had anticipated the eventual orbit of 3U CubeSat which had an FM crossband repeater and an APRS digipeater on 145.825 MHz, the same frequency as the International Space Station's APRS channel.

Meanwhile, the amateur satellite known as PARUS T1 is being scheduled for launch by SpaceX in January, carrying an APRS store-and-forward system.

Both satellites were student projects at National Formosa University.