From AP via the New York Times (link):
A rocket carrying six small weather satellites blasted off Friday evening on a five-year mission to track hurricanes, monitor climate change and study space weather.
The satellites, a joint venture by Taiwan and the United States, launched from California’s Central Coast aboard a Minotaur rocket shortly after 6:30 p.m. and were expected to reach orbit about 250 miles above Earth.
Taiwan’s National Space Organization said the mission should help the country better predict typhoons including their wind strength and rainfall amount.
See also “Taiwan space agencies” by GlobalSecurity.org also “Taiwan’s space programs making contributions” by TaipeiTimes.com