NHK, PTS partner on rocket launch doc
November 7, 2024
By Chris Forrester
One of Japan public broadcaster NHK’s regional stations, NHK Obihiro, is cooperating with Taiwanese public broadcaster PTS on a documentary following the launch of the first Taiwanese rocket which will take off from Hokkaido in Japan.
The rocket launch by Taiwan Innovative Space (TiSpace) is scheduled for spring 2025. It will be the first-ever Taiwanese rocket to be launched, and the first foreign rocket to be launched from Japan’s Hokkaido Space Port. The two broadcasters will coproduce a documentary following the launch. The documentary will also depict Taiwan’s space research and industry, the young space generation enthusiasts and Taiwan’s space education, while also featuring Japan’s local revitalisation of Hokkaido through combining agricultural and spaceport development.
PTS and NHK’s Obihiro Station in Hokkaido will jointly conduct the research and filming. The city of Obihiro is located in the district where the launch site Hokkaido Space Port is.
The signing ceremony of the coproduction agreement was held in Taipei on November 11th with the attendance of Junji Matsuoka, the Director-General of NHK’s Obihiro Station and Cindy Shyu, the President of PTS. It will be the first coproduction project for NHK Obihiro Station to participate in.
Matsuoka commented: “NHK and PTS has coproduced various projects in the past, but this is the first time that we, a NHK’s regional station, will mainly be involved. We are very excited to work together with PTS, especially on such a wonderful topic – space. I am confident that this partnership will result in a great project.”
Shyu added: “This is a rare space programme filming project for Taiwan, and PTS is incredibly excited about the outcome of this collaboration.”
She expressed hope that through this collaboration, PTS could learn from NHK Obihiro Broadcasting Station in the professional technical field of space and rocket filming. She also mentioned that the programme will also provide a fresh perspective on Hokkaido for Taiwanese.