TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Taiwan Space Agency’s Parus-T1 satellite took off on Wednesday at 3:09 a.m. from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The launch is part of the company’s Transporter series, designed to send customers’ satellites into space, per Space.com. The CubeSat contacted TASA’s ground station at 11:05 a.m., CNA reported.

Parus-T1 was designed by TASA and carries a communications payload. It is a litmus test for Taiwan’s satellite design and manufacturing capabilities.

TASA said after Parus-T1’s test run, it will establish a CubeSat platform for academia and industry, speeding up research and enhancing Taiwan's competitiveness in the space sector.

Falcon 9 deployed Parus-T1 into low Earth orbit 57 minutes after launch at an altitude of 515 km. The satellite deployed its antennas and solar panels 30 minutes after entering orbit.

TASA said its Parus platforms are designed in various sizes to meet mission needs, ranging from the 3U-sized to the 6U-sized T4 (1U is 10x10x10 cm).