TWiST Newsletter Issue No. 199 Is Out!

Guest Editor’s Note

Most people know that Elon Musk founded SpaceX, but fewer may know that its President and Chief Operating Officer, Gwynne Shotwell, played a crucial role in developing the Falcon launch vehicles and generating more than US$10 billion in business for the company.

Life can unfold in remarkable ways. Moments that initially seem unrelated may remain in our memories and form unexpected connections years later. In 1969, when Apollo 11 completed humanity’s first crewed Moon landing, six-year-old Gwynne watched the adults cheering around the television—and found the event rather “boring.”

She could not have imagined that a meeting with Elon Musk in 2002 would transform her life. After suggesting that he consider the commercial potential of his work, she was recruited to SpaceX several months later as its 11th employee and eventually became its president. In 2023, Forbes ranked her 31st among the world’s most powerful women.

Some people discover their ambitions at an early age and steadily work toward them. Many others follow their instincts, connecting experiences from different stages of life to create their own remarkable journeys.

The three women featured in this issue work in space-related fields but are not conventional space scientists. In recent years, SpaceX’s disruptive innovations and lower launch costs have driven the emerging space economy, enabling people from diverse professional backgrounds to enter the industry. This has also brought new energy and possibilities to Taiwan’s third-phase, ten-year national space program (2019–2028).

As a woman with a humanities background, I joined Microsoft through an unexpected opportunity. My work has allowed me to meet many outstanding women and hear how chance encounters changed the direction of their lives. Their stories often feel familiar: follow your heart, choose what you love, and every path can offer beautiful scenery.

Original Articles in Issue No. 199

Feature Report | Economic Daily News senior writer Jui-Chih Chiang reflects on her career as an experienced financial journalist. After majoring in sociology, she naturally moved into reporting on economics and public policy.

Among the many highlights of her career, nothing brought her greater surprise and joy than witnessing the successful launches of FORMOSAT-5 and FORMOSAT-7. Carrying Taiwan’s space ambitions, these satellites travel through the vastness of space while serving and protecting the country.

Through her reporting, Chiang also discovered the contributions of women scientists in the seemingly distant and highly technical field of space science. One example is Chung-Hui Chu, project leader of FORMOSAT-7 and one of Taiwan’s early homegrown space scientists.

Career | Hsin-Ju Wu, Business Manager at the Industrial Technology Research Institute’s Industry Service Center and Executive Secretary of the Taiwan Low Earth Orbit Satellite Industry Association, describes life as a great adventure in which every turning point brings new challenges and opportunities for growth.

Who could have imagined that a medical technologist who once examined cells under a laboratory microscope would eventually stand on the stage of an international space technology exhibition, helping shape the industry’s future?

Her journey from the laboratory to the vast space industry has been filled with challenges, surprises, and personal breakthroughs. By sharing her story, she hopes to encourage more professional women to pursue their dreams, break free from conventional career paths, explore the diverse possibilities of technology careers, and recognize the unlimited potential of the space industry.

Life| May, Regional Manager at the Taiwan Space Agency (TASA), describes her career transition as a personal test of courage. Her journey took her from studying wine to working in international cooperation at TASA.

Through these two seemingly distant yet interconnected fields—wine and space—she discovered subtle connections between technology and nature, humanity and the universe. Let us raise a glass and explore the wonders of technology and space together!

For more information, please visit the newsletter: http://www.twepress.net/tfst/item/1543-tfst199