News Mails - 2011
ASIA-PACIFIC REGIONAL SPACE AGENCY FORUM (APRSAF)
News Mail -No. 085 Aug/31/2011
http://www.aprsaf.org
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**CONTENTS
1. News from APRSAF community: VSSEC's education program launched (Australia)
2. KARI joins International Charter "Space and Major Disasters"
3. Selection of participants for APRSAF-18 Water Rocket Event under way
4. Kazsat-2 successfully launched by Proton
5. Workshop on cooperative project on ASEAN EO satellite held, GISTDA
6. China launches Beidou-2 satellite
7. Event Calendar
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1. News from APRSAF community: VSSEC's education program launched (Australia)
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The Victorian Space Science Education Centre (VSSEC) launched a new education program, Robotic Mission to Mars, in July. This Web-based program allows students anywhere in the world to control a real rover on a simulated Martian surface from their school. Information on this program will be shared with the Space Education Awareness Working Group (SEAWG) at APRSAF-18 in Singapore.
For further information about the program, please visit the
following website:
http://www.aprsaf.org/interviews_features/features_2011/feature_120.php
## At the APRSAF secretariat, we welcome your updates on space-related activities. ##
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2. KARI joins International Charter "Space and Major Disasters"
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The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) has joined the International Charter "Space and Major Disasters." The Charter is an international collaboration, mainly among space agencies, for disaster management by providing satellite data in the event of a major disaster. KARI will provide free images from Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite-2 (KOMPSAT-2), which is equipped with a multispectral camera that can acquire 1 m resolution panchromatic images and 4 m resolution color images.
References:
International Charter News:
http://www.disasterscharter.org/web/charter/news?p_p_id=NiPortlet_WAR_DisasterCharter&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=normal&_NiPortlet_WAR_DisasterCharter_articleId=103419
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3. Selection of participants for APRSAF-18 Water Rocket Event under way
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Rocket Launching Technology Competition 2011 (PTPR2011) was successfully held from July 24 to 26, 2011, at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Sixteen teams consisting of a total of 32 students and 16 mentors participated. The first prize winner, SMK Merchang, Marang, Terengganu, will represent Malaysia at the Water Rocket Event to be held as a side event of APRSAF-18 in December in Singapore.
Similarly, in Japan, a water rocket competition was held on August 26 on the JAXA Sagamihara campus to select Japanese participants for the APRSAF-18 Water Rocket Event. The announcement of the participants is expected to be made in the coming days.
Other countries are also holding competitions for selecting their delegates for the APRSAF-18 Water Rocket Event.
Reference:
ANGKASA News (in Malay):
http://www.angkasa.gov.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=598&Itemid=101
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4. Kazsat-2 successfully launched by Proton
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On July 16, 2011, Kazakhstan's telecommunication satellite, Kazsat-2, was successfully launched by the Proton Breeze M launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, and was placed in the geosynchronous orbit 9 hours and 24 minutes after the launch.
Kazsat-2 was built by the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center and provides TV and communication services in Kazakhstan. The satellite was launched with the SES-3 satellite, the geostationary communication satellite of SES, one of the global satellite operators.
References:
ILS News Release:
http://www.ilslaunch.com/newsroom/news-releases/ils-proton-successfully-launches-ses-3-satellite-ses
Kazsat-2, Khrunichev
http://www.khrunichev.ru/main.php?id=95&hl=kazsat-2
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5. Workshop on cooperative project on ASEAN EO satellite held, GISTDA
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The Workshop on Cooperative Project on the Establishment of ASEAN Earth Observation Satellite was held on July 26, 2011, in Pattaya, Thailand; it was hosted by the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA). Representatives from Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and the ASEAN Secretariat participated and discussed the prospect of launching an ASEAN earth observation satellite, ASEAN EOS, and its feasibility among ASEAN countries.
Reference:
GISTDA News:
http://www.gistda.or.th/gistda_n/en/index.php?option=com_jevents&task=icalrepeat.detail&evid=587&Itemid=50&year=2011&month=07&day=26&uid=bee6a0ebf225cc240e27e93cc29418ad
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6. China launches Beidou-2 satellite
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On July 26, 2011, China launched a navigation satellite - an inclined geosynchronous orbit satellite (IGSO-4) - on a Long March 3A rocket. The satellite is the ninth satellite of Beidou-2 or the COMPASS navigation system, and it will be China's second navigation system with a constellation of 35 satellites. China plans to complete the first phase of the Beidou-2 navigation system covering the Asia-Pacific region by the end of 2012, and in the second phase, it will construct a global navigation satellite system by 2020.
References:
Ministry of National Defense of China News (in Chinese):
http://news.mod.gov.cn/headlines/2011-07/27/content_4282449.htm
Beidou site (in Chinese):
http://www.beidou.gov.cn/2011/06/08/20110608f2bbcae545424631bc869dc95b08c9cd.html
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7. Event Calendar
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- 11th Australian Space Science Conference
(26-29 Sep 2011, Canberra, Australia)
http://www.nssa.com.au/ocs/index.php?cf=13
- The 32nd Asian Conference on Remote Sensing
(3-7 October 2011, Taipei, Taiwan)
http://www.acrs2011.org.tw/
- Workshop on Space Technology Applications for Socio-Economic Benefits
(10-14 October 2011, Hanoi, Vietnam)
http://www.sti.vast.ac.vn/en/Scientific-Workshop/un-vast-2011-space-workshop.html
- 3rd Asia Oceania Regional Workshop on GNSS
(1-2 November 2011, Jeju-Island, Korea)
http://www.multignss.asia/index.html
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Copyright 2011 The APRSAF Secretariat
APRSAF News Mails are distributed to update the readers on recent developments in space-related activities in the Asia-Pacific region.
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