Malaysia’s First Successful Rocket-Triggered Lightning Experiment by SATREPS Project

On the 3^rd May, the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) project* titled “Real-Time Lightning 3D Imaging and Forecasting Project for Sustainable and Reliable Supply of Energy and Storm Disaster Early Warning (RTL-3D)” has successfully conducted the Malaysia’s first rocket-triggered lightning experiment at Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM). With this achievement, Malaysia became the seventh country in the world to successfully perform rocket-triggered lightning.

Rocket-triggered lightning is a technique in which a small rocket pulls up a grounded wire beneath a thundercloud to artificially trigger a lightning strike. As this technique enables researchers to determine the time and location of lightning strike in advance, it is used for advancing scientific understanding of lightning mechanisms. This technology is also expected to be applied to lightning protection measures.

In Malaysia, lightning strikes occur frequently, while lightning protection and avoidance measures remain insufficient. As a result, lightning-related incidents have posed challenges, including disruptions to the operation and control of electrical equipment in railways, factories, and other facilities. This project aims to reduce lightning damages and failures in power systems by developing a lightning observation network and estimating charge distribution inside thunderclouds. Moreover, lightning warning system and products for lightning damage mitigation will be introduced. The project is jointly implemented by a consortium of universities and research institutions in Japan and Malaysia, led by Kindai University, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM), and Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN).

The data collected from the experiment will be utilized for the improvement of the above estimation of charge distribution inside thunderclouds.

* The SATREPS project is supported by JICA and Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) through the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) programme, as well as the counterpart budget by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), Malaysia.

Project Overview:

(1) Project Title: Real-Time Lightning 3D Imaging and Forecasting Project for Sustainable and Reliable Supply of Energy and Storm Disaster Early Warning

(2) Project Period: June 2023 – June 2028 (5 years)

(3) Research Consortium:

(Japan) Kindai University, The University of Electro-Communications, Gifu University, Chubu University, Fukui University, OTOWA ELECTRIC CO., LTD.

(Malaysia) Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM); Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), Universiti Teknologi MARA, Jasin (UiTM Jasin), TNB Research Sdn Bhd (TNBR), Malaysian Meteorological Department (MET Malaysia), Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID).

(4) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rtl3d

(5) Website: https://rtlsatreps.utem.edu.my/

For more information, please contact us as below:

Prof. MORIMOTO Takeshi,
Principal Investigator,
Faculty of Science and Engineering,
Kindai University.

Email: morimoto▲ele.kindai.ac.jp
(Convert ▲to@)