FORMOSAT-2 was launched on May 20, 2004 (West Coast Time, US) On June 4 of the same year, it started to transmit remote sensing imagery data and on July 4, it started to taking photographs of red sprites from the satellite. It has been one year from the day FORMOSAT-2 launched into the sun-synchronous orbital of 891 km. It has made a total of 5,104 revolutions annually, taking pictures all over the world, covering a total area of 27 million square km., equivalent to 750 times the size of Taiwan.

What is laudable about FORMOSAT-2 is its unique daily revisiting design and autonomy of its satellite operations. Aside from meeting domestic demands, it is able to conduct image gathering all over the world. In a short period of one year since its launch, FORMOSAT-2 has made numerous major contributions in the area of disaster relief and rescue including those during the July 2 nd flash floods, Typhoons Aere and Nock-ten; it also played a major role during the tsunami disaster, when its high-resolution images assisted in damage assessment and rescue efforts. These contributions were given due recognition by the international community.

To promote the satellite's remote sensing images, the NSPO has put a special team in charge of promoting image applications. In terms of the domestic market, users with special needs are given special services; users which have general needs are interface with one of the distribution centers. Currently, there are six distribution centers: National Taiwan Normal University, National Cheng Kong University, National Taiwan University, Fengchia University, and National Central University. The value added services provided by these distribution centers are able to satisfy user needs at various application levels. Moreover, these services can also enhance the promotion of scientific research and education related to FORMOSAT series. For the international market , NSPO has signed an exclusive sales distribution agreement with Spot Image and established a receiving station at the North Pole. The Kiruna Station has already become operational on May 1 st . Consequently, imagery data from FORMOSAT-2 can not only be transmitted from Taiwan, but also from the North Pole receiving station. This greatly increases the satellite's global operational capability.

From the time it was launched to the present, FROMOSAT-2 has already chalked up a number of records, including: (1) Taiwan has made the transition from a nation of satellite information user to a satellite imagery output nation; (2) Satellite imagery has been successfully used in disaster survey assessment and disaster rescue efforts, assisting international search-and-rescue, which has enhanced Taiwan's international reputation; and (3) the world's first experimental plan to observing upper atmospheric lightning (red sprites) from a satellite, which is used to observe the upper atmospheric lightning phenomenon around the world. At the International Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the achievements of FORMOSAT-2 have received recognition from aerospace experts around the world.