News Mails - 2016

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ASIA-PACIFIC REGIONAL SPACE AGENCY FORUM (APRSAF)
News Mail No. 137 Jan/28/2016
http://www.aprsaf.org/
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- * CONTENTS

• 1. News on APRSAF: Questionnaire Closed
• 2. News on APRSAF: Call for Proposals Asian Try Zero-G, 2016
• 3. Event Calendar
• 4. First Philippine Microsatellite to be Deployed from Kibo
• 5. IRNSS-1E Successfully Launched
• 6. UAE's KhalifaSat Completes CDR
• 7. Six Singaporean Satellites Successfully Launched by PSLV

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* 1. News on APRSAF: Questionnaire Closed
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APRSAF's online questionnaire is now closed. The APRSAF Secretariat would like to thank you all for taking your time to fill in the questionnaire. The answers will be analyzed for further improvement of APRSAF activities.

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* 2. News on APRSAF: Call for Proposals Asian Try Zero-G, 2016
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The Kibo-ABC initiative is now accepting proposals for ideas for experiments to be conducted in the Japanese Experiment Module "Kibo" in the International Space Station (ISS). The program this year has two selection categories divided by applicant age; category 1 is for those under 18 years of age and category 2 for young scientists and engineers up to age 27.

The submission deadline is February 29, 2016 (JST 17:00). For details, please visit the Kibo Utilization Office for Asia (KUOA) website:
http://iss.jaxa.jp/en/kuoa/news/151225_call_for_proposals.html

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* 3. Event Calendar
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- Global Space & Technology Convention (GSTC) 2016
(February 11-12, 2016, Singapore)
http://www.gstcsingapore.com/

- The 14th International Conference On Space Operations
(May 16-20, 2016, Daejeon, Korea)
http://spaceops2016.org/

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* 4. First Philippine Microsatellite to be Deployed from Kibo
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On January 13, 2016, the first Philippine-assembled microsatellite, DIWATA-1, was handed over to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to be deployed from the Japanese Experiment Module "Kibo" in the International Space Station (ISS). The 50kg class earth observation satellite was developed by Philippine researchers and engineers sent to Japan with support from two Japanese universities: Hokkaido University and Tohoku University. It is expected to contribute to the country's weather forecast, disaster management, and to provide other environmental solutions. It will be launched by a US launch vehicle some time after March and deployed from Kibo thereafter.

References:
- The Government of the Philippines news
http://www.gov.ph/2016/01/18/philippines-diwata-microsatellite-launch/
- JAXA Press Release (in Japanese)
http://iss.jaxa.jp/kiboexp/news/20160122_diwata.html

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* 5. IRNSS-1E Successfully Launched
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On January 20, 2016, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System-1E (IRNSS-1E) by its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C31. After maneuvering four times, the satellite was injected into the Geosynchronous Orbit at 111.75 degrees east longitude with 28.1 degrees inclination.

India is constructing its own navigation system, the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), and IRNSS-1E is the 5th of a total of 7 satellites constituting the space segment of IRNSS. The 6th and 7th satellites plan to be launched in the coming months.

Reference:
- ISRO Press Release
http://www.isro.gov.in/update/20-jan-2016/pslv-c31-successfully-launches-indias-fifth-navigation-satellite-irnss-1e

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* 6. UAE's KhalifaSat Completes CDR
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On January 6, 2016, the UAE's Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) announced that its first domestically developed satellite, KhalifaSat, completed its critical design review (CDR). The final design of the engineering model (EM) was completed, and according to the Emirates News Agency, the CDR of the software and systems to be installed into the satellite was finished.

The earth observation satellite is equipped with seven components including a KhalifaSat Camera System (KHCS) and will be operated in a sun-synchronous orbit. It is scheduled for launch in 2018 by Japan's H-IIA launch vehicle.

References:
- Twitter@MBRSC
https://twitter.com/MBRSpaceCentre/status/684694641472487424
- MBRSC - YouTube
https://youtu.be/nASOgxluSDI
- WAM
https://www.wam.ae/en/news/emirates/1395290000803.html
- MBRSC Khalifasat
http://khalifasat-thejourney.com/?lang=en

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* 7. Six Singaporean Satellites Successfully Launched by PSLV
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On December 16, 2015, six Singaporean satellites were successfully launched by India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C29. The primary satellite is TeLEOS-1, Singapore's first commercial Earth Observation satellite by ST Electronics was deployed at about 18 minutes 12 seconds after lift-off, which was followed by five other satellites, including VELOX-C1 and VELOX-2 developed by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore.

References:
- ST Electronics News
http://www.stee.stengg.com/news/2015/12-02.html
- ISRO Press Release
http://www.isro.gov.in/update/16-dec-2015/pslv-successfully-launches-six-satellites-singapore
- Gunter's Space, VELOX-C1
http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/velox-c1.htm
- Gunter's Space, VELOX-2
http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/velox-2.htm

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Copyright 2016 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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