1. APRSAF-26 Updates

1) APRSAF-26 Registration Open until October 25
Registration for APRSAF-26 open until October 25, 2019.
Early registration is highly appreciated.

Online registration is available at:
https://www.aprsaf.org/annual_meetings/aprsaf26/registration.php

2) APRSAF Newsletter No. 30 Now Available
In this issue, focusing on the upcoming APRSAF-26 in Nagoya, Japan, the general co-chairs give their welcome messages to the expected participants, and four working group co-chairs outline the scope of their sessions at the annual meeting. Moreover, Professor Shinichi Nakasuka, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, University of Tokyo, has contributed a fabulous message.
The PDF version of APRSAF Newsletter No. 30 is available on the following website:
http://www.aprsaf.org/newsmails_newsletters/pdf/Newsletter30.pdf

2. News from APRSAF Community

1) President of the Philippines Signed Law Creating Philippine Space Agency
On August 8, President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines signed a law creating the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA). In signing the new law, President Duterte recognized the "urgent need to create a coherent and unified strategy for space development and utilization to keep up with other nations in terms of space science and technology." He added that there is also a need "to ensure that the Philippines has official representation in the international space community for establishing cooperation agreements and linkages on space development."

Reference:
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1077724

2) Head of Turkish Space Agency Appointed
On August 6, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appointed Serdar Huseyn Yildirim, Director General of Aeronautics and Space Technologies, Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, as the first head of the Turkish Space Agency. The Turkish Space Agency was established in December last year, under the Ministry of Industry and Technology.

Reference:
https://menafn.com/1098855374/Turkey-appoints-head-of-Turkish-Space-Agency
https://www.tccb.gov.tr/haberler/410/108237/-soydaslarimizin-tarih-ana-vatanlari-kirim-daki-hurriyetlerinin-guvence-altina-alinmasi-onceligimizdir-(In Turkish)

3) UAE’s First Astronaut Successfully Completed his Mission and Conducted Educational Project in ISS/Kibo
The United Arab Emirates’ first astronaut, Hazzaa Al Mansoori was launched by Soyuz from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. During his one week stay aboard the International Space Station, Astronaut Mansoori conducted an educational project in Kibo under the cooperation of JAXA and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC). The educational project, aimed to explain the attitude control of a spacecraft using JAXA’s “Int-Ball” was conducted on September 30th.

Reference:
https://www.mbrsc.ae/

For more information about the activity of UAE astronauts, please visit:
https://twitter.com/MBRSpaceCentre
https://www.instagram.com/mbrspacecentre/
https://www.facebook.com/MBRSpaceCentre

4) China’s Jielong 1 Smallsat Launcher Successful on First Flight
On August 17, a solid-fueled small satellite launcher named Jielong 1 successfully launched payloads into orbit on its maiden flight from northwestern China, marking the debut of a new rocket developed by a spinoff of China’s state-owned launch vehicle manufacturer using a commercial business model. The Jielong 1, or Smart Dragon 1, rocket inserted three small satellites into polar orbit after lifting off from the Jiuquan launch base in the Inner Mongolia region of northwest China, according to the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, or CALT.

Reference:
https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/08/17/chinas-jielong-1-smallsat-launcher-successful-on-first-flight/
http://www.spacechina.com/n25/n2014789/n2014804/c2698383/content.html(In Chinese)
http://www.minospace.cn/details.html?id=185(In Chinese)
http://www.uni-explore.com/news.aspx?pkid=673(In Chinese)
http://m.calt.com/n1688/n1702/c14633/content.html(In Chinese)
http://www.spaceflightfans.cn/event/jielong-1-rocket-maiden-launch (In Chinese)

5) Japan’s HTV8 Cargo Craft Successfully Launched atop the H-IIB Rocket
On September 25, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) H-IIB rocket launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan. A little more than 15 minutes after launch, the unpiloted H-II Transfer Vehicle-8 (HTV8) cargo spacecraft successfully separated from the rocket. On September 29, ISS Crew concludes HTV8 berthing operations.

Reference:
https://global.jaxa.jp/press/2019/09/20190925a.html
http://iss.jaxa.jp/en/htv/mission/htv-8/news/launch.html
http://iss.jaxa.jp/en/htv/mission/htv-8/news/
https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2019/09/24/japanese-space-freighter-blasts-off-to-resupply-station-crew/

6) Call for 2020 PNST Fellowships is Now Open
The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech) are pleased to announce that applications for "Post-graduate study on Nano-Satellite Technologies (PNST)" are now being accepted. This is a scholarship for getting a Phd or Masters degree in space engineering at Kyutech. Six scholarships will be awarded (3 Phd and 3 Masters). Applicants must be from a non-space-faring nation and must be under age 35.

Applications for this fellowship program will be accepted until 19 January 2020 (Sunday, 23:00 JST).

For full details, please visit:
http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/psa/bsti/fellowships.html

3. Event Calendar

International Astronautical Congress (IAC) 2019
(October 21-25, Washington, D.C., USA)
https://www.iac2019.org/

GEO-XVI Plenary
(November 6-7, Canberra, Australia)
https://www.earthobservations.org/geoweek19.php?t=geo_xvi_plenary

Dubai Air Show
(November 17-21, Dubai World Central, Dubai Airshow Site)
https://www.dubaiairshow.aero/

United Nations/Austria World Space Forum "Access to Spcae4All"
(November 18-22, Vienna, Austria)
http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/hlf/2019/world-space-forum-2019.html

The 26th Session of the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF-26)
(November 26-29, Nagoya, Japan)
https://www.aprsaf.org/annual_meetings/aprsaf26/meeting_details.php

Pacific Islands GIS & RS Conference 2019
(November 25-28, USP Japan ICT Auditorium, Suva Fiji)
http://www.picgisrs.org/

Copyright 2020 The APRSAF Secretariat

APRSAF News Mails are distributed to update readers on
recent developments in space-related activities in the Asia-Pacific region.
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