[1/4] Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen makes a speech at the shipment ceremony of Triton, Taiwan's first locally built weather satellite in Hsinchu, Taiwan July 14, 2023. REUTERS/Ann WangHSINCHU, Taiwan, July 14 (Reuters) - Taiwan's first domestically developed weather satellite shows its determination to develop its space industry, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Friday, lauding the programme as a step to take the island to the stars. "The Wind-Hunter Satellite is born-and-bred made in Taiwan," she said at Taiwan Space Agency in the northern city of Hsinchu, home to Taiwan's world-beating semiconductor industry, referring to it by its Chinese-language name. "The Wind-Hunter Satellite proves that with the advantages of Taiwan's semiconductor and precision manufacturing, it is absolutely capable of entering the global space industry," Tsai said, adding that the satellite showed Taiwan's determination to develop a space industry and participate in the space age. Triton will be launched into a circular low-earth orbit at an altitude of about 550-650 km (340-400 miles), according to the Taiwan Space Agency.

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Persons: Tsai Ing, Triton, Ann Wang, Tsai, Vega, Elon, Safran, Ben Blanchard, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Taiwan Space Agency, Hunter, SpaceX, Airbus, Thomson Locations: Hsinchu, Taiwan, Ann, Ann Wang HSINCHU, China, Guiana