News Mails - 2013

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ASIA-PACIFIC REGIONAL SPACE AGENCY FORUM (APRSAF)
News Mail No. 110 Oct/04/2013
http://www.aprsaf.org/
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- * CONTENTS

• 1. News on APRSAF: APRSAF-20 Registration is now open
• 2. News on APRSAF: Call for SAFE proposals
• 3. News on APRSAF: SSAF2013 updates
• 4. News from APRSAF Community: World Space Week 2013
• 5. ISRO releases INSAT-3D images
• 6. Conference on space technologies for climate by LAPAN and UNOOSA
• 7. India to construct new VAB
• 8. Epsilon successfully launched
• 9. Advanced Instrumentation and Technology Centre (AITC) to host
  Australian Space and Spatial Innovation Partnership
• 10. Event Calendar

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* 1. News on APRSAF: APRSAF-20 Registration is now open
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As notified earlier, the 20th session of the Asia-Pacific Regional
Space Agency Forum (APRSAF-20) will be held from December 3 to 6,
2013. Online registration facility for APRSAF-20 is now available on
our website. More details on the tentative program schedule,
accommodation, etc., are also available on our website:
http://www.aprsaf.org/annual_meetings/aprsaf20/meeting_details.php

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* 2. News on APRSAF: Call for SAFE proposals
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One of the APRSAF initiatives, Space Applications For Environment
(SAFE), is now accepting proposals for new SAFE prototyping. The
deadline is Friday, November 1, 2013. For details, please visit the
SAFE portal:
http://www.eorc.jaxa.jp/SAFE/events/call_for_proposals_aprsaf20.html

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* 3. News on APRSAF: SSAF2013 updates
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The on-orbit experiment of the Space Seed for Asian Future 2013
(SSAF2013) was completed on September 6, 2013, after a final round of
observations of the Azuki sprouts that had been grown for a week.
Brief reports, including video files that show an astronaut conducting
the experiment in the ISS, are now available on the SSAF2013 website:
http://iss.jaxa.jp/en/kuoa/ssaf/ssaf_2013/

Students are expected to compare the growth of sprouts on the ground
with those in space by watching the relevant videos, and submit their
reports. We request the students planning to submit their reports to
refer to the following information:
- For rules for submission
http://iss.jaxa.jp/en/kuoa/ssaf/ssaf_2013/submission%20rules.pdf
- For the SSAF2013 handbook
http://iss.jaxa.jp/en/kuoa/ssaf/ssaf_2013/SSAF2013handbook_a.pdf
- For other information (the on-orbit experiment reports and other information)
http://iss.jaxa.jp/en/kuoa/ssaf/ssaf_2013/

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* 4. News from APRSAF Community: World Space Week 2013
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The World Space Week Association will hold a special "flagship" event
in over 15 countries, along with their project partners, the
Australian Space Forum, Space Generation Advisory Council, KiwiSpace,
and the Mars Society, from October 4 to October 10, 2013. This is the
first time that such a large-scale event is being held with the World
Space Week as its theme.
For further information, please visit the following website:
http://www.oewf.org/cms/world-space-week-2013.phtml

*News request to the APRSAF Community*
We will be happy to include information about your organization, such
as current activities and upcoming events, in our News Mails. Please
feel free to send in your information to: secretariataprsaf.org.

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* 5. ISRO releases INSAT-3D images
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On August 21, 2013, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
released a few images from its geostationary meteorological satellite,
INSAT-3D, which was launched on July 25, 2013. ISRO had activated two
meteorological payloads (multi-spectrum camera and atmospheric sounder)
for image capturing on August 7 and 8, 2013. ISRO announced that the
two payloads were in good health and that the images received were of
good quality.

References:
- ISRO News
http://www.isro.org/insat-3d/initial-products.aspx
- Initial Products of INSAT-3D (PDF, 3.29MB)
http://www.isro.org/pdf/insat-3d-imager.pdf
- INSAT-3D Sounder Radiances (PDF, 832KB)
http://www.isro.org/pdf/insat-3d-sounder.pdf

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* 6. Conference on space technologies for climate by LAPAN and UNOOSA
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The National Institute of Aeronautics of Indonesia (LAPAN) and the
United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) held a
conference on space technologies for climate change from September 2
to 4, 2013. Approximately 150 participants, including experts in the
field of space, environment, and climate change, and decision makers
from UN member states and other national, regional, and international
organizations, attended the conference. One of the main agendas of the
conference was to discuss more effective ways of using space
technologies for regions or countries affected by climate change.

A stakeholder meeting was held in parallel with the conference, which
focused on the activities of the regional support office (RSO) of the
United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster
Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) in Indonesia, which had
first been established in Southeast Asia. The Deputy Chairman of
Remote Sensing Affairs of Indonesia, Mr. Taufik Maulana, pointed out
the need for establishing an efficient integrated disaster information
center that would provide disaster areas with accurate and useful
information, referring to a bank of information on post-disaster
disruption.

References:
- UN-SPIDER News
http://www.un-spider.org/about-us/news/space-technologies-climate-change-conference-successfully-concluded
- LAPAN News (in Indonesian)
http://www.lapan.go.id/doc_news/UNOOSA_02-040913.html
http://www.lapan.go.id/doc_news/un-spider2013.html
http://www.lapan.go.id/doc_news/UNOOSA_040913.html

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* 7. India to construct new VAB
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On September 12, 2013, the government of India approved a project for
constructing a second vehicle assembly building (VAB) in Satish Dhawan
Space Centre, Sriharikota (SDSC-SHAR). The estimated cost is about USD
57 million, and the construction will be completed within 42 months.
The new VAB can operate in parallel with the existing VAB and
accommodate the increasing demand for PSLV and GSLV launches.

Reference:
- Press Information Bureau, Government of India
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=99332

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* 8. Epsilon successfully launched
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On September 14, 2013, JAXA's new generation rocket, Epsilon-1, was
successfully launched with the Spectroscopic Planet Observatory for
Recognition of Interaction of Atmosphere (SPRINT-A) onboard. SPRINT-A
was separated at about 61 minutes and 39 seconds after liftoff and
injected into a planned orbit. Its solar array paddles were deployed
approximately 10 minutes after the separation.

SPRINT-A is the world's first space telescope for the remote
observation of planets such as Venus, Mars, and Jupiter from its orbit
around Earth.

References:
- JAXA Press Releases
http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2013/09/20130914_epsilon_e.html
http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2013/09/20130914_hisaki_e.html

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* 9. Advanced Instrumentation and Technology Centre (AITC) to host
Australian Space and Spatial Innovation Partnership
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On August 29, 2013, the Minister responsible for Space announced a budget
of AUD 6 million for an Australian Space and Spatial Innovation
Partnership. The Partnership brings together industry, government,
defense, research, and education organizations to increase Australia's
competitiveness in the global space market. The Partnership has its
headquarters at the ANU Advanced Instrumentation and Technology Centre
(AITC) in Canberra, with nodes in other states. The Partnership will
provide critical support for a broad range of strategic industries,
including mining, agriculture, defense, emergency management,
communications, and transport, by leveraging Australian expertise and
linking capability across the complete value chain, including
precision engineering, data management and storage, and the
development of products and services.

Reference:
- ANU News
http://rsaa.anu.edu.au/news-events/news/anu-hosts-space-innovation-partnership

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* 10. Event Calendar
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- ACRS 2013
(20-24 October 2013, Bali, Indonesia)
http://www.acrs2013.com/

- 1st COSPAR Symposium
(11-15 November 2013, Bangkok, Thailand)
http://cospar2013.gistda.or.th/

- Pacific GIS&RS Conference
(18-22 November 2013, Lami, Fiji Islands)
http://picgisrs.appspot.com/

- APISAT-2013
(20-22 November 2013, Takamatsu, Japan)
http://www.jsass.or.jp/apisat2013/index.html

- The 5th nano-satelite symposium
(20-22 November 2013, Tokyo, Japan)
http://www.nanosat.jp/

- The 1st UNISEC-Global Meeting
(23-25 November 2013, Tokyo, Japan)
http://unisec-global.org/

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Copyright 2013 The APRSAF Secretariat

APRSAF News Mails are distributed to update the readers on
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APRSAF Secretariat
c/o Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
ochanomizu sola city, 4-6 Kandasurugadai, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 101-8008 Japan
Tel: +81-50-3362-5880 / Fax: +81-3-5209-3208
E-mail: secretariataprsaf.org
Web: http://www.aprsaf.org
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