News Mails - 2007
1. The Lunar explorer "KAGUYA" (SELENE) launched successfully, Japan, September 14
2. The 4th Sentinel Asia Joint Project Team Meeting (JPTM4), Philippines, September 5 - 7
3. INSAT-4CR, a communications satellite successfully launched in India, September 2
4. AOGS (Asia Oceania Geoscience Society) 2007, 4th Annual Meeting Thailand, July 30 - August 4
5. South Korea picks its first astronaut
6. [[Event Information and APRSAF Website Updates - September - October 2007]]
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1. The Lunar explorer "KAGUYA" (SELENE) launched successfully, Japan, September 14
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The Japanese Lunar Exploration Satellite named "KAGUYA" was successfully launched by H-IIA rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center, South of Japan, on September 14, 2007.
The launch vehicle flew smoothly, and, at about 45 minutes after liftoff, the separation of the KAGUYA was confirmed.
It is the lunar probe with the highest performance efficiency since the Apollo program. It will try to draw closer to the core, where the mystery of the origin and evolution of the Moon lies and which the Apollo program could not resolve with its 14 state-of-the-art observation instruments.
For more details, visit JAXA HP: http://www.jaxa.jp/countdown/f13/topics/pdf/0917_1000_va1_e.pdf
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2. The 4th Sentinel Asia Joint Project Team Meeting (JPTM4), Philippines, September 5 - 7
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The fourth Sentinel-Asia Joint Project Team Meeting (JPTM4) for establishing the Disaster Management Support System in the Asia-Pacific region was held in Manila, the Philippines from September 5 to 7, 2007 attended by more than 80 participants representing 50 organizations from 17 countries and 5 international organizations from Asia and the Pacific.
The achievements of the STEP-1 targeting for 2006-2007 were reported as well as the next step was discussed, which will be reported to the 14th Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum which will be held in Bangalore, India from November 21 to 23 2007.
At the Meeting, organizations of 5 from Philippines and 2 from Bhutan were newly approved as new Joint Project Team Members.
Interviews with the meeting participants will soon be posted on APRSAF HP: http://www.aprsaf.org/initiatives/index.php
For more details, visit APRSAF HP:
http://www.aprsaf.org/text/wg_meeting_philippines.html
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3. INSAT-4CR, a communications satellite successfully launched in India, September 2
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According to Dr. S. Satish, Director of the Publications & Public Relations of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), India's Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F04) successfully launched the INSAT-4CR satellite on September 2, 2007 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR, in Sriharikota. GSLV-F04 placed the satellite into a geo-synchronous transfer orbit (GTO).
INSAT-4CR will be co-located with other satellites; INSAT-3C (communication satellite, 2002), KALPANA-1 (meteorological satellite, 2002) and EDUSAT (Education Satellite, 2004). INSAT-4CR is the third satellite in the INSAT-4 series. It carries 12 high-power Ku-band transponders designed to provide direct-to-home (DTH) television services, Video Picture Transmission (VPT) and Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG).
ISRO Website:
http://www.isro.org/pressrelease/Sep02_2007.htm
Full text of the article is available at APRSAF Hot Topics: http://www.aprsaf.org/interviews_features/features_2007/feature_21.php
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4. AOGS (Asia Oceania Geoscience Society) 2007, 4th Annual Meeting Thailand, July 30 - August 4
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The fourth annual meeting of the Asia Oceania Geoscience Society 2007 was held from July 30 to August 4, 2007, in Bangkok, Thailand, together with 1,183 participants from 53 countries and regions.
The meeting was comprised of seven keynote sessions named the Solid Earth (SE), Solar Terrestrial (ST), Hydrological Science (HS), Atmospheric Science (AS), Ocean Science (OS), Planetary Science (PS), and Interdisciplinary Working Groups (IWG).
Dr. Yoshifumi Saito, Secretary General of AOGS, and of JAXA, gave his impressions: "The AOGS annual meeting provides a good opportunity for countries in the Asia-Oceania region to develop a plan for future international joint geoscience projects as well as provide a new chance to have scientific discussions in Asia-Oceania. I hope more and more geoscience researchers in the Asia-Oceania region will utilize the AOGS in the years to come."
AOGS 2007 Website:
http://www.asiaoceania.org/aogs2007/index.html
Full text of the article will soon be posted on APRSAF Hot Topics: http://www.aprsaf.org/interviews_features/features_2007/feature_22.php
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5. South Korea picks its first astronaut
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According to the Policy Studies & International Relations Division of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), on September 5, 2007, South Korea selected Mr. Ko San, a 30-year-old computer vision engineer at KARI, as its first astronaut.
He will go into the International Space Station on a Russian spacecraft, Soyuz, in April 2008 and spend 7 or 8 days on the space station orbiting the Earth.
The source of this article is "Korea Net" (September 5, 2007):
http://www.korea.net/news/news/newsView.asp?serial_no=20070905013&part=107&SearchDay=&page=1
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6. [[Event Information and APRSAF Website Updates - September - October 2007]]
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*September 21-24, 2007
The Fourth International Conference on Asian and Pacific Coasts (APAC2007)
Nanjing, China
http://www.apac2007.com/
*October 16-18, 2007
The Future of Forests in Asia and the Pacific: Outlook for 2020
Chiang Mai, Thailand
http://www.fao.org/forestry/site/39701/en
*October 16-19, 2007
3rd International Yellow River Forum (IYRF)
Dongying City, China
http://forum.yellowriver.cn/
*October 18-23, 2007
3rd Ministerial Conference on Space Applications for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
http://www.unescap.org/icstd/SPACE/3MC/3MC_index.asp
*October 22-24, 2007
4th International Conference on Agriculture Statistics (ICAS-4)
Beijing, China
http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/icas/
*Octorber 29-30, 2007
13th CEReS International Symposium on Remote Sensing
Chiba City, Japan
http://www2.cr.chiba-u.jp/symp2007/
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Copyright 2007 The APRSAF Secretariat
APRSAF Secretariat