As early as 1989, during Lee Huan's term as Premier of the Executive Yuan, the NSC went public with their plan for satellite development. At that time, the claim by NSC Chairman Hsia Han-min that it would take five years and NT $ 10 billion to design, build and launch a satellite prompted a strong attack from the academic community.
早於民國七十八年，李煥行政院長任內，國科會公開了發展衛星的計畫，國科會主任委員夏漢民提出以五年、一百億的經費，自行設計、製造及發射衛星，立即引起國內學術界強烈反彈。