News Mails - 2012

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ASIA-PACIFIC REGIONAL SPACE AGENCY FORUM (APRSAF)
News Mail No. 092 Mar/23/2012
http://www.aprsaf.org
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**CONTENTS

1. News on APRSAF
　- 1st APRSAF Task Force held at Bangkok
　- 11th issue of the APRSAF Newsletter is out
　- APRSAF-19 website launched

2. News from the APRSAF Community
　- News Requested from the APRSAF Community

3. DubaiSat-2 completes environmental test

4. GNSS User Meet held in India

5. LAPAN-A2 and LAPAN-A3 to be launched in 2012-2013

6. Event Calendar

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1. News on APRSAF
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- 1st APRSAF Task Force held at Bangkok
On February 27, 2012, the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum
(APRSAF) Task Force had a kick-off meeting, in Bangkok, Thailand,
to start its work. Hosted by the Geo-Informatics and Space
Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) and attended by about 20
participants from 9 organizations, this inaugural meeting was
convened following the recommendation of the 18th session of
APRSAF, held in Singapore, on the establishment of a task force,
consisting of organizations having experience with APRSAF
sessions, to consider ways and means to make APRSAF more dynamic.

The Task Force is expected to submit its recommendations to
APRSAF at its 19th session (APRSAF-19), to be held in Malaysia,
in December 2012.
- 11th issue of the APRSAF Newsletter is out
The 11th issue of APRSAF Newsletter has been published. Its
PDF version is now available on our website
(http://www.aprsaf.org/newsmails_newsletters/letters.php)
and print copies will soon reach the community members on
our mailing list through the post.

- APRSAF-19 website launched
The website for APRSAF-19, which is to be held in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia, in December 2012, has been launched with
the following URL:
http://www.aprsaf.org/annual_meetings/aprsaf19/meeting_details.php

As more and more details on APRSAF-19 will be uploaded
whenever necessary, please visit the website as regularly as
you can.

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2. News from the APRSAF Community
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-*** News Requested from the APRSAF Community***
We are happy to include in our News Mails information on
your organization's current activities and upcoming events.
Please feel free to send us this information at the address
<secretariataprsaf.org>

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3. DubaiSat-2 completes environmental test
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On February 1, 2012, the Emirates Institution for Advanced
Science and Technology (EIAST) of the United Arab Emirates
announced that the environmental test for DubaiSat-2 had
been completed, including the vibration, acoustic, and
thermal vacuum tests; that its Critical Design Review would
be conducted in late February, and that this project would
move on to the Flight Model (FM) manufacturing stage.

DubaiSat-2 will be launched into a 600-km altitude orbit by
the end of 2012 and will be used for environmental
monitoring and urban planning, together with DubaiSat-1, an
earth observation satellite launched in July 2009.

Reference:
- EIASAT News
http://www.eiast.ae/default.aspx?options={6c9456d6-36c1-4fa2-8f09-916d30089868}&view=Eiast&layout=Eiast&itemId=18&Id=269

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4.GNSS User Meet held in India
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On February 23, 2012, a Global Navigation Satellite System
(GNSS) User Meet was held by the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) at
ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore. This meeting aimed to link
service providers and users, facilitating
information-sharing that would promote the development of
GNSS-based applications and of user receivers that utilize
the navigation signals of GAGAN and the upcoming Indian
Regional Navigation Satellite System to complement their
existing air traffic control systems.

During this meeting, two technical sessions and a panel
discussion on topics like GAGAN, IRNSS, and the utilization
of navigation signals were held.

Reference:
- ISRO Press Release
http://www.isro.org/pressrelease/scripts/pressreleasein.aspx?Feb23_2012

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5. LAPAN-A2 and LAPAN-A3 to be launched in 2012-2013
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On February 22, 2012, the National Institute of Aeronautics
and Space of Indonesia (LAPAN) celebrated the five years of
LAPAN-TUBSAT operating in orbit. The event also involved
discussions on future satellite development. At the event,
Dr. Tejasukmana, Chairman of LAPAN, stated that LAPAN-TUBSAT
had remained operational well beyond its designed lifetime
of two years (launched on January 10, 2007), and its success
had encouraged further satellite development.

LAPAN is now developing small earth observation satellites,
LAPAN-A2 and LAPAN-A3. LAPAN is negotiating with India to
launch LAPAN-A2 by an Indian rocket around
September-December 2012. LAPAN-A3 is scheduled to be
launched in 2013.

Reference:
- LAPAN News (in Indonesian)
http://www.lapan.go.id/doc_news/tubsat2012.html

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6. Event Calendar
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-The 5th GEOSS Asia-Pacific Symposium
(2-4 April 2012, Tokyo, Japan)
http://www.geoss-ap-symposium.org/index.html

-WGISS-33 Meeting
(23-27 April 2012, Tokyo, Japan)
http://www.ceos.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=77&Itemid=200

-GHRSST XIII Science Team Meeting
(4-8 June 2012, Tokyo, Japan)
http://www.prime-pco.com/ghrsst/index.html

-39th COSPAR Scientific Assembly
(14-22 July 2012, Karnataka, India)
http://www.cospar2012india.org/Default.aspx

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Copyright 2012 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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