News Mails - 2017

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ASIA-PACIFIC REGIONAL SPACE AGENCY FORUM (APRSAF)
News Mail No. 149 June 2, 2017
http://www.aprsaf.org/
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- * CONTENTS

• 1. APRSAF-24 Updates
  - First announcement of APRSAF-24 released
• 2. News on APRSAF Activities
  - APRSAF/SAFE-ESCAP Meeting was held in Bangkok
  - Seminar on "Space Education for Educators" was hosted by NSM, GISTDA, and JAXA
• 3. News on APRSAF Community
  - VNSC updated the Vietnam Space Center Project
  - The Philippine's DOST, UP mark DIWATA-1's first year in space
  - India Successfully launches South Asia Satellite, GSAT-9
  - Launch success of the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 34 with the second Quasi-Zenith Satellite "MICHIBIKI No. 2" on board
• 4. Event Calendar

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* 1. APRSAF-24 Updates
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- First announcement of APRSAF-24 released

The first announcement of the 24th session of the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF-24) has been released. APRSAF-24 will be held from November 14-17, 2017 in Bengaluru, India, with the theme "Space Technology for Enhanced Governance and Development." It will be jointly organized by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (MEXT), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

For further information about APRSAF-24 and to obtain the PDF file of the first announcement, please visit the APRSAF website:
http://www.aprsaf.org/annual_meetings/aprsaf24/meeting_details.php

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* 2. News on APRSAF Activities
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- APRSAF/SAFE-ESCAP Meeting was held in Bangkok

The APRSAF/SAFE (Space Applications For Environment)-ESCAP was held on May 15 in Bangkok, Thailand. It was co-organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and JAXA. At this meeting, two final reports were presented, and five on-going and one follow-up prototyping activities were reported.

The reports of the meeting will be available later.
http://www.eorc.jaxa.jp/SAFE/index.html

- Seminar on "Space Education for Educators" was hosted by NSM, GISTDA, and JAXA

Seminar on "Space Education for Educators" was conducted on May 17-18, at the National Science Museum (NSM) in Thailand. This seminar was co-organized by NSM, the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA), and JAXA. The purpose of this seminar was to support the development of higher education capacity in space technology for teachers and education personnel in Thailand. JAXA conducted lectures on space education including "New Lessons in Space Science and Technology: Letting Space Inspire the New Generation" and "Space Education Center: How We Support Educators and Mentors." GISTDA gave the speech on introduction of GISTDA and satellite remote sensing.

NSM News (in Thai):
http://www.nsm.or.th/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=6294:2017-05-17-06-46-34&Itemid=104&lang=th
NSM Facebook (in Thai):
https://www.facebook.com/NSMthailand/posts/1321013537934328&lang=th

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* 3. News on APRSAF Community
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- VNSC updated the Vietnam Space Center Project

On March 23, 2017, Vietnam National Satellite Center (VNSC) held the workshop titled "Recent development and implementation plan 2017-2022 of Vietnam Space Center Project" in Hanoi. VNSC shared progress about the project that aim to acquire technology to self-produce micro-satellite for Vietnam. In the reports, VNSC updated a 50 kg micro-satellite "MicroDragon" project that is under development with five Japanese universities (The University of Tokyo, Keio University, Tohoku University, Kyushu Institute of Technology, and Hokkaido University), and informed that the satellite is expected to be launched in 2018 by JAXA's Epsilon Launch Vehicle.
VAST News:
http://www.vast.ac.vn/en/news/activities/1755-recent-development-and-implementation-plan-2017-2022-of-vietnam-space-center-project
VNSC - Vietnam Space Center Project:
https://vnsc.org.vn/en/projects/vietnam-space-center-project/

- The Philippine's DOST, UP mark DIWATA-1's first year in space

On April 27, 2017, the Pinoy Showcase of Space Technologies (PSST) was held by the Advanced Science and Technology Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-ASTI) at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City. The main purpose of the PSST was to showcase the use of DOST-ASTI's ground control station to download image data from the "DIWATA-1", the Philippines' first micro-satellite, during its scheduled passes over the Philippines. Through this event, DOST-ASTI and UP marked the first year in orbit of "DIWATA-1" which was deployed from the "Kibo" in ISS on April 27, 2016. Now the next micro-satellite "DIWATA-2" is under development by DOST-ASTI and UP with Japanese universities, as is "DIWATA-1." DIWATA-2 is targeted to be launched by the second quarter of 2018.
DOST-ASTI Press Room:
http://www.asti.dost.gov.ph/press-room/diwata-1-showcase-of-space-technology

- India Successfully launches South Asia Satellite, GSAT-9

On May 5, 2017, ISRO's South Asia Satellite (GSAT-9) was deployed by the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F09), launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR (SDSC SHAR). The primary objective of GSAT-9 is to provide various communication applications in Ku-band with coverage over South Asian countries.
ISRO Updates:
http://www.isro.gov.in/update/05-may-2017/gslv-successfully-launches-south-asia-satellite

- Launch success of the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 34 with the second Quasi-Zenith Satellite "MICHIBIKI No. 2" on board

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully launched the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 34 (H-IIA F34) with the second Quasi-Zenith Satellite "MICHIBIKI No. 2" on board at 9:17:46 a.m. on June 1, 2017 (JST) from the Tanegashima Space Center.
JAXA Press Release:
http://global.jaxa.jp/press/2017/06/20170601_h2af34.html
Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) website:
http://qzss.go.jp/en/index.html

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* 4. Event Calendar
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- 31st International Symposium on Space Technology and Science (ISTS)
(June 3-9, 2017, Matsuyama, Japan)
http://www.ists.or.jp/

- Australian Academy of Science, the Dawn of the new space age series/Cleaning up space junk with lasers
(June 6, 2017, Canberra, Australia)
https://www.science.org.au/news-and-events/events/public-speaker-series/dawn-new-space-age/cleaning-space-junk-lasers

- Global Space Exploration Conference (GLEX)
(June 6-8, 2017, Beijing, China)
http://www.iafastro.org/evenements/global-space-exploration-conference-glex-2017/

- COPUOS 60th session
(June 7-16, 2017, Vienna, Austria)
http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/copuos/current.html

- 6th Annual International Space Station R&D Conference
(July 17-20, 2017, Washington, D.C., USA)
http://www.issconference.org/

- ICAO/UNOOSA Aerospace Symposium [SPACE 2017]
(August 29-31, 2017, Vienna, Austria)
https://www.icao.int/meetings/space2017/Pages/default.aspx

- Myanmar Connect 2017
(September 19-20, 2017, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar)
http://www.capacityconferences.com/Myanmar-Connect.html

- International Seminar Aerospace and Science Technology 2017 / V
(September 27-29, 2017, Medan, Indonesia)
http://isast.lapan.go.id/

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Copyright 2017 The APRSAF Secretariat

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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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