News Mails - 2007
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1. [[Hot Topic 1]]
Australian Space Activities in 2007
2. [[Hot Topic 2]]
Space Activities at the Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) in 2007
3. [[Asian Space Update 1]]
PSLV-C7 successfully launched four satellites (10 January) and CARTOSAT-2 Camera Tested (12 January), India
4. [[Asian Space Update 2]]
Activities of Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC)
- A Hub of Regional Cooperation in Asia
5. [[Asian Space Update 3]]
GEOSS Symposium on Integrated Observation for Sustainable Development in the Asia-Pacific Region (GEOSS AP Symposium), Tokyo, Japan - 11-12 January, 2007 -
6. [[Asian Space Update 4]]
International Forum on Tsunami and Earthquake
-Progress of the Implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action and Recovery from Tsunami and Earthquake-Kobe City, Hyogo, Japan - 15-16 January -
7. [[Hot Topic 3]]
SELENE "Wish upon the moon!" Campaign
- JAXA will deliver your name and message to the moon.
8. [[Event Information and APRSAF Website Update- Feb - Mar 2007]]
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1. [[Hot Topic 1]]
Australian Space Activities in 2007
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New Year Message from Australia:
- Dr. Miriam Baltuck, Director, Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, CSIRO Industrial Physics -
During the coming year Australia's government-funded space activities will continue to be focused, pragmatic and mostly earth-oriented, with emphasis on applications relating to weather forecasting, navigation& timing services, communications & broadcasting, environmental & natural resource management, and national security. Australia will continue its participation in international cooperative activities including APRSAF, GEO, CEOS, GES (Global Exploration Strategy for the Moon and Mars) and
Sentinel Asia. Australia will continue to be one of the largest users of international satellite information for government and commercial applications, using 10-20 TB of data per month.
Space activities in Australia will see a significant increase in government support in 2007 through the new National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) announced by the Department of Education, Science and Training in November 2006:NCRIS has committed AUD 55.2 M to establish an Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS). IMOS will create an enhanced, nationally integrated capacity to collect and compile marine data (in-situ and remotely sensed) and make it accessible to researchers and other users.The Structure and Evolution of the Australian Continent program (AUD 43M) includes the development of an enhanced national geospatial reference system to support work in precision agriculture, mining and large-scale engineering. New elements will include three new Very Long Baseline Interferometry radio telescopes and additional GPS receivers to enhance Australia's space geodesy array.
Building on Australia's internationally recognized strengths in optical and radio astronomy, the NCRIS funds (AUD 45M) will support a range of projects. Following Australia's selection in 2006 as a finalist for
hosting the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), NCRIS funding will be directed to the new Mileura International Radio Array (MIRA) in Western Australia. MIRA will be a significant next-generation radio telescope and a demonstrator of the future world's biggest telescope, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), which may be built in Australia by 2020.CSIRO is delighted to lead or participate integrally in all of these activities, and we look forward to another fruitful year of collaboration with APRSAF in 2007!
CSIRO Website
http://www.csiro.au/
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2. [[Hot Topic 2]]
Space Activities at the Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) in 2007
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New Year Message from Viet Nam:
- Prof. Dr. Sc. Nguyen Khoa Son, Vice President of VAST-
"The Space Technology Institute (STI) was established in November 2006 by the decision of the Prime Minister of Vietnam. STI is affiliated to the Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) and its tasks are to research and develop satellite technology, to apply, especially in remote sensing, GIS and GPS; to establish infrastructure for space technology, to promote education and training activities, and to explore international cooperation.
To implement the "Viet Nam Strategy for Research and Application of Space Technology" approved by the Prime Minister in June 2006, the main space activities at VAST in 2007 are to carry out feasibility study of the "Viet Nam Earth Observation Small Satellite Project (VNSat Project)" and to set up and submit a "National Research Program on Space Technology" to the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST).
To fulfill these tasks, VAST would like to cooperate with other countries in the region through the framework of APRSAF - an excellent forum - in order to get information and experiences to promote research and applications of space technology. VAST hopes that the APRSAF will continue its contribution by providing opportunities for sharing experiences and resources in space technology and applications among the countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
On the occasion of the New Year in 2007 which is the International Heliophysical Year, VAST wishes all countries participating in APRSAF new successes in the development and applications of spacetechnology ."
VAST Website
http://www.vast.ac.vn/index.asp
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3. [[Asian Space Update 1]]
PSLV-C7 successfully launched four satellites (10 January) and CARTOSAT-2 Camera Tested (12 January), India
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India successfully launched PSLV-C7, ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, carrying four satellites -- India's CARTOSAT-2 and Space capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE-1), Indonesia's LAPAN-TUBSAT and Argentina's PEHUENSAT-1 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota, at 9:23am on 10 January, 2007.
680 kg CARTOSAT-2, which was launched into the 639 km high polar orbit, is an advanced remote sensing satellite capable of providing scene-specific spot imagery. The panchromatic camera (PAN) on board the satellite can provide imagery with a spatial resolution of better than one metre and a swath of 9.6 km.
Dr. S. Krishnamurthy, Director, Publications & Public Relations of ISRO gave a message to APRSAF News Mail readers on 20 January.
"PSLV-C7 was the ninth consecutively successful flight of India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. The precision with which PSLV-C7 placed all the four satellites into the polar orbit has unequivocally demonstrated the sophistication, versatility and reliability of PSLV to launch multiple satellites.
For the first time, a Dual Launch Adopter (DLA) was used in PSLV to accommodate two primary satellites in tandem and the separation of each of the satellite and DLA after proper orientation to avoid collision has been successfully proved in flight. "PSLV has truly become a workhorse of ISRO."
On 22 January, ISRO announced that SRE-1 was successfully recovered on this date after being maneuvered to reenter the earth's atmosphere and descend over Bay of Bengal about 140km East of Sriharikota.
* Please refer to the following ISRO's press releases for more information about this article.
http://www.isro.org/pressrelease/Jan10_2007a.htm
http://www.isro.org/pressrelease/Jan12_2007.htm
http://www.isro.org/pressrelease/Jan22_2007.htm
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4. [[Asian Space Update 2]]
Activities of Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC), Japan
-A Hub of Regional Cooperation in Asia
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The APRSAF secretariat visited the Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC), Japan and interviewed Dr. Koji SUZUKI, Executive Director about ADRC activities.
ADRC was established in July 1998, with a mandate to facilitate multinational cooperation for disaster reduction in the Asian region. Along with 25 member countries, ADRC pursues activities leading to future prosperity and safe, peaceful, and comfortable lives of people in Asia.
ADRC also addresses issues of concern related to disaster reduction from a global perspective, in cooperation with international organizations and initiatives, such as the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN/OCHA), UNESCO, the United Nations University (UNU), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN/ESCAP), World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and the World Health Organization Office for the Western Pacific (WHO/WPRO).
Its main activities are "Information Sharing", "Human Resources Development" and "Building Community Capabilities".
The ADRC has a program named "Visiting Researcher" as a part of personnel training. Every year, four disaster prevention administration officers are invited from 25 member countries as visiting researchers. Two trainees from Thailand and Mongolia are currently researching concerning disaster prevention.
Dr. Koji SUZUKI said to us, "These approaches are very important for ADRC to build a relationship with member countries and these trainees will become the person in charge of disaster prevention and cooperate with us for sharing the information about disasters."
The full version of this interview will be uploaded to the APRSAF website soon.
ADRC Website
http://www.adrc.or.jp/top_j.php
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5. [[Asian Space Update 3]]
GEOSS Symposium on Integrated Observation for Sustainable Development in the Asia-Pacific Region (GEOSS AP Symposium), Tokyo, Japan - 11-12 January, 2007 -
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From 11th to 12th January, 2007, the GEOSS Symposium on Integrated Observation for Sustainable Development in the Asia-Pacific Region (GEOSS AP Symposium) was held in Tokyo, Japan. The symposium was organized by the Secretariat of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) with the support of the Japanese Government. A total of 311 participants attended the symposium from 30 countries.
The symposium, held with the goal of gaining a common understanding of future activities for realizing GEOSS (Global Earth Observation System of Systems) that can contribute to sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region, began with a plenary session followed by four parallel sessions. At the plenary session, Asian countries presented the diverse activities related to GEOSS that are being undertaken in their countries. At the parallel sessions, specifically, four agendas were featured: Monitoring Ecosystems and Biodiversity; Resolving the Climate Change and Water Cycle; Monitoring Forest Fires; and Monitoring Earthquakes.
The plenary session started with the opening addresses of Prof. Jose Achache (Secretariat Director, GEO), who represented the symposium organizer, as well as Mr. Akio Yuki (Vice Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan) who represented the host country. Their addresses were followed by the keynote lecture by Dr. Hiroo Kanamori (Professor at the California Institute of Technology) under the title of "Preparing for rare, great earthquakes." He pointed out that large earthquakes only occur rarely but they have an enormous impact when they do occur, and that because of this, the long-term monitoring of large earthquakes is difficult. He also stressed that earthquake data should be disclosed to researchers for continuous use, and that total support should be provided to the entire process of installation, operation, maintenance, and research to enable effective utilization of observation equipment networks.
Following the keynote lecture, the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) presented its report and then proceeded to the introduction of GEOSS-related activities in Asia-Pacific countries. In the former presentation, Dr. Andrew Matthews (chair of the APN Steering Committee) introduced APN's goal and organizational structure as well as capacity building programs (CAPaBLE) that it is implementing in the Asia-Pacific region. The representatives from Japan, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, the Philippines, and Thailand made a report on their efforts for GEOSS.
For more details:
http://www.prime-intl.co.jp/geoss/
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6. [[Asian Space Update 4]]
International Forum on Tsunami and Earthquake
-Progress of the Implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action and Recovery from Tsunami and Earthquake-Kobe City, Hyogo, Japan - 15-16 January, 2007 -
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On the occasion of the 2nd anniversary of the United Nations World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR) and the Indian Ocean Tsunami, together with the 12th anniversary of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, the International Forum on Tsunami and Earthquake was organized with the theme "Progress of the Implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action and Recovery from Tsunami and Earthquake" on January 15 and 16, 2007.
This International Forum has provided an opportunity to exchange information and views among those involved in disaster reduction in Japan and abroad regarding progress in disaster reduction activities in line with the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA), which was adopted at the WCDR as a guideline for disaster risk reduction efforts during the next decade in the international community.
On January 15, the International Symposium, which was open to public participation, was held with 302 participants from 20 organizations in 34 countries, to share information and exchange knowledge to build up disaster-resilient countries using the recovery processes developed on the basis of the experience and lessons learned from natural disasters. At the same time, the Symposium discussed international cooperation for further promotion of the HFA.
On January 16, the Experts Meeting was organized to verify the progress made in recovery efforts implemented in tsunami- and earthquake-hit regions and to come up with concrete measures to achieve better recovery. The Experts Meeting comprises three thematic group discussions, on "Housing," "Livelihood," and "Organizational and Institutional Arrangements," to enable recovery with a view to rebuilding with improved structures, as well as a plenary session.
This Forum was organized by International Recovery Platform (IRP) Kobe, Cabinet Office of Japan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Hyogo Prefecture, Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC), UNDP, UN/OCHA, ILO, UN-Habitat, The World Bank and IFRC with the following objectives.
1) Recognition of the important perspectives for post disaster recovery from devastating disasters
2) Inter-sectoral Exchange of Information of Lessons and Experiences for future Road Map of ongoing Disaster Recovery 3) Dissemination of Policy Feedback for the HFA through actual recovery activities
The Symposium will be filmed by "117 Broadband TV" (Hyogo, Kobe), and can be viewed from January 19 onwards at the following websites. You, also, will be able to view this symposium with subtitles in late
February.
1) Welcome Remarks & Keynote Speech:
http://www.hyogo117tv.jp/movie/20070115_01.html
2) Tsunami Recovery Status Reports:
http://www.hyogo117tv.jp/movie/20070115_02.html
3) Panel Discussion:
http://www.hyogo117tv.jp/movie/20070115_03.html
International Recovery Platform (IRP) Secretariat
http://www.recoveryplatform.org
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7. [[Hot Topic 3]]
SELENE "Wish upon the moon!" Campaign
-JAXA will deliver your name and message to the moon.
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The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) plans to launch the lunar orbiter "SELENE" on an H-IIA Launch Vehicle from Tanegashima Space Center in the summer of 2007.
The SELENE is an artificial satellite that aims to collect closely featured scientific data on "Theformation of the moon and its transitional history up to today," which is the biggest lunar exploration project since the Apollo Project.
JAXA will accept from the public names and messages to deliver to the moon aboard the SELENE. Please send your wishful messages to JAXA.
For more information on the SELENE Project including application details, please visit:
http://www.jaxa.jp/pr/event/selene/index_e.html
* Please note that the application period is until 31 January 2007.
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8. [[Event Information and APRSAF Website Update- Feb - Mar 2007]]
Workshop for Space, Aeronautical and Navigation Electronics (WSANE2007) at Australian Resources Research Centre (ARRC) in Perth, Western Australia - 15-18 April, 2007 -
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The technical group on Space, Aeronautical and Navigational Electronics (SANE), and the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (IEICE), Japan are planning to hold an International Workshop entitled "Workshop for Space, Aeronautical and Navigation Electronics (WSANE2007) " It will be held on 15 to 18 April 2007 at the Australian Resources Research Centre (ARRC) in Perth, Western Australia.
The objective of WSANE2007 is to provide an opportunity for system engineers and researchers to discuss new and viable technical topics of electronics system in spacecraft, aircraft, ships and group facilities.
The topics covered will include but are not limited to the following:
(1) Satellite and scientific observation technology,
(2) Remote sensing and scientific systems,
(3) Radar systems and applications,
(4) Navigational and communication systems.
For more information, please visit:.
-Call for Paper: http://www.ieice.org/cs/sane/WSANE2007/CFP.pdf
-WSANE2007 : http://www.ieice.org/cs/sane/WSANE2007/
-IEICE : http://www.ieice.org/eng/
-Submission : http://www.ieice.org/cs/sane/eng/
* Feb 19-21, 2007
APCO Australasia 2007 Conference and Exhibition, Queensland, Australia
http://www.intergraph.com/events/APCO_2007/default.asp
* Feb 21-23, 2007
Inaugural IEEE International Digital EcoSystems Technologies Conference, Cairns, Australia
http://www.ieee-dest.curtin.edu.au/
* March 5-9, 2007
11th Annual CARIS User Group Conference and Educational Sessions, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
http://www.caris.com/conferences/caris2007/
* March 8-9, 2007
Housing Congress 2007, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
http://www.ahuri.edu.au/calendar/event.asp?ContentID=event_20061023
* March 12-14, 2007
International Conference on Water and Flood Management (ICWFM), Dhaka, Bangladesh
http://teacher.buet.ac.bd/icwfm/index.htm
* March 13-16, 2007
GEOFORM+ 2007, Moscow, Russia
http://www.geoexpo.ru/
* March 21-22, 2007
CRCSI Workshop: Geophysical Image Processing, Sydney, Australia
http://www.crcsi.com.au/pages/CalendarDetails.aspx?tabid=1&AVCalendarPage=1&Mid=1&ItemID=106&viewdate=21%20March%202007
* March 21-23, 2007
3rd Asian Space Conference, Singapore
http://pdcc.ntu.edu.sg/ASC2007/
* March 27-30, 2007
Asia Modeling Symposium (ASM 2007), Phuket, Thailand
* March 28-30, 2007
Intergraph Australia User Conference 2007-Security, Government' Infrastructure, Victoria, Australia
http://www.intergraph.com/events/Intergraph_Australia_User_Conference_2007/default.asp
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Copyright 2006 The APRSAF Secretariat
APRSAF Secretariat