TAIWAN

New Space Race Begins: Twenty-three international space companies, including U.S. firms, are vying for a bid to build the spacecraft of Taiwan’s first satellite, the government’s National Space Program Office said. Donald Chang, manager of the agency’s system engineering division, said the National Space Program Office will select a U.S. or European company as supplier of the spacecraft by the end of February. He estimated total costs for the first phase of the program, including the spacecraft, payload and launching, at $2.9 billion.