New Year Message from the APRSAF member's countries for activities in 2007

Complex, CSIRO Industrial Physics -
During the coming year Australia's government-funded space activities will continue to be focused, pragmatic and mostly earth-oriented, with emphasis on applications relating to weather forecasting, navigation & timing services, communications & broadcasting, environmental & natural resource management, and national security. Australia will continue its participation in international cooperative activities including APRSAF, GEO, CEOS, GES (Global Exploration Strategy for the Moon and Mars) and Sentinel Asia. Australia will continue to be one of the largest users of international satellite information for government and commercial applications, using 10-20 TB of data per month.
Space activities in Australia will see a significant increase in government support in 2007 through the new National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) announced by the Department of Education, Science and Training in November 2006:
NCRIS has committed AUD 55.2 M to establish an Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS). IMOS will create an enhanced, nationally integrated capacity to collect and compile marine data (in-situ and remotely sensed) and make it accessible to researchers and other users.
The Structure and Evolution of the Australian Continent program (AUD 43M) includes the development of an enhanced national geospatial reference system to support work in precision agriculture, mining and large-scale engineering. New elements will include three new Very Long Baseline Interferometry radio telescopes and additional GPS receivers to enhance Australia's space geodesy array.
Building on Australia's internationally recognized strengths in optical and radio astronomy, the NCRIS unds (AUD 45M) will support a range of projects. Following Australia's selection in 2006 as a finalist for hosting the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), NCRIS funding will be directed to the new Mileura International Radio Array (MIRA) in Western Australia. MIRA will be a significant next-generation radio telescope and a demonstrator of the future world's biggest telescope, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), which may be built in Australia by 2020.
CSIRO is delighted to lead or participate integrally in all of these activities, and we look forward to another fruitful year of collaboration with APRSAF in 2007!
CSIRO Website
http://www.csiro.au/

In 2006, Korea achieved a few successful results in the space field. First, Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) successfully launched KOMPSAT-2 into orbit on July 28 2006 by a Russian launch vehicle at Plesetsk in Russia, which has 1m resolution of Multi-Spectral Camera and it has been producing useful earth observation data. Second, KARI selected two candidates for the first Korean astronauts who will board on Soyuz spaceship for the International Space Station in April 2008. In the commercial area, Korea Telecom successfully launched KOREASAT-5 into the geostationary orbit for broadcasting services in northeastern Asia. But Haukuk Aviation University Satellite-1 (HAUSAT-1), which was 1kg mass of an ultra micro satellite developed by students of Korea Aviation University, failed to enter into orbit due to the launch failure at Baikonur launch site in Kazakhstan.
In 2007, there is no big special event such as satellite launch, but a few space programs will go on as scheduled. The Naro Space Center will be completed its construction and facilitated with many pieces of equipments this year. KARI will prepare its first launch for Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1), at the Naro Space Center. KSLV-1 had been scheduled to take Scienced Technology Satellite-2 (STSAT-2) into orbit by the end of this year. But KSLV-1 launch will be postponed to the next year because the KSLV-1 program will be delayed. The two candidates for astronauts will be sent to Russia soon and be trained for boarding on the International Space Station next year. The satellite developing programs such as Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite-3 (KOMPSAT-3), KOMPSAT-5 and Communication Ocean and Meteorological Satellite (COMS-1) will go on as planned. Year 2007 will be very quiet but substantial in the space field to Korea.
KARI Website
https://www.kari.re.kr/index1.asp

Activities of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Nepal in 2007
"ICIMOD's Space Technology Applications in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan Region "
The International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) based in Kathmandu has been working as the only regional center for sustainable livelihoods of the mountain people and promoting economically and environmentally sound development of mountain ecosystems in the HKH region. ICIMOD through Mountain Environment Natural Resources Information Systems (MENRIS) program has adopted a strategic approach to assist its regional member countries in capturing the opportunities provided by the Space and related technologies for organized information networking and improved decision making. ICIMOD is regularly participating in APRSAF to highlight the importance of space technology applications in the mountain areas. More information is available at www.icimod.org.
The following paragraphs describe briefly activities related to space technology applications in mountain areas: In collaboration with the European Space Agency, an internet platform within the frame work of Mountain Geoportal (http://menris.icimod.net) has been created to build, share, learn and communicate geospatial information regarding remote sensing applications in the HKH region. In addition, there are 11 remote sensing project proposals being implemented by partners from the regional countries of the HKH region to demonstrate the use of remote sensing applications for mountain areas. These will later be integrated in Space educational portal (EDUSPACE) of the ESA. ICIMOD together with national partner institutions and in partnership with UNEP is focusing on mapping of glaciers, glacial lakes and Glacier Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) in the Himalayas. The comprehensive database thus developed through remote sensing and GIS techniques will provide the basis for monitoring of glacier environment in the wake of global warming and design of early warning system for disaster mitigation efforts. The 'Application of Satellite Rainfall Estimates in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan Region' project has been carried out in collaboration with USGS and NOAA to strengthen regional cooperation in flood forecasting and information exchange, and to build the capacity of partner institutions for satellite rainfall estimation and its application. The project is supported by the USAID/OFDA.
Likewise, many remote sensing applications are underway such as highland wetland mapping, transboundary biodiversity corridor mapping, land cover mapping and others which are essential components to make informed decision-making for mountain development policies and practices.
In sum, MENRIS together with strategic partnership with international agencies is contributing towards a comprehensive capacity building and networking activity through regional and national training courses, provision of new software and tools, exchange of scientists, and technical backstopping to partner organizations to enhance and strengthen the capacities of institutions of the HKH in utilizing space technology applications for mountain areas. For more information please visit Mountain Geoportal at http://menris.icimod.net.
ICIMOD Website
http://www.icimod.org/home/

---Remote Sensing Activities---
The Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing (CRISP) in National University of Singapore, is Singapore's main organization responsible for remote sensing activities. CRISP operates a remote sensing satellite ground station which was installed in September 1995. The ground station has three tracking antennas, a 13m diameter X band antenna, a 6m X band antenna and a 1.5m L band antenna, and two geostationary 3.6m L band antenna reception of Fengyun 2C, China's second professional geostationary orbit meteorological satellite, and the Multi-functional Transport Satellite-1R (MTSAT-1R), Japanese weather satellites. The earth observation satellites CRISP now receives Satellite Probatoire d'Observation de la Terre 2/4/5 (SPOT 2/4/5), European Remote Sensing Satellite (ERS), AA,environmental satellite of National Oceanic and Atmospheric dministration, MTSAT-1R, FengYun 2C, Earth Observing System -AM (Terra)/ -PM1 (AQUA) and IKONOS,commercial high-resolution satellite.
CRISP embarks the New Year with plans to expand its data reception capability by adding a new S/X band tracking antenna. The antenna is expected to be commissioned in early 2008.
CRISP will continue to be active in applying remote sensing satellite data to environmental monitoring, especially in the area of forest fires. CRISP will also continue to conduct research on the processing, analysis and applications of satellite remote sensing data. Currently, CRISP research focuses on the processing and application of very high spatial resolution imagery, hyperspectral data with tens to hundreds of spectral bands, and multiple polarization synthetic aperture radar.
---Satellite Technology/ XSAT---
The X-Sat project in the Centre for Research in Satellite Technologies (CREST) in Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a joint center for satellite engineering between NTU and Defense Science Organization (DSO). X-Sat is a LEO satellite mission designed with multi-mission objectives in earth observation and imaging applications, satellite based data acquisition/distribution and messaging and on-board data processing experiments.
The primary mission objective of the X-Sat mission in earth observation and imaging is realized through a 10m esolution multi-spectral visible band optical instrument named IRIS. SaTReCi of South Korea has been contracted to build this optical payload for the X-Sat mission. The secondary payload, named the Parallel Processing Unit (PPU), is designed and developed indigenously by CREST for the demonstration of on-board data processing, such as image data compression, in small satellites.
X-Sat is currently being developed. It is scheduled for launch in 2008.
CRISP Website
http://www.crisp.nus.edu.sg/

Activities of the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA), Thailand in 2007
It is an honor and pleasure for me to have an opportunity to deliver a message here in APRSAF News. The Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) is responsible for geoinformatics and space-related activities especially earth observation satellite data reception, distribution and applications. In 2007, GISTDA continues receiving data from Landsat 7; SPOT 2, 4, 5; Radarsat; MODIS; and NOAA. As the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) data Sub-node in Thailand and ASEAN countries, GISTDA will start receiving ALOS data at Lad Krabang Ground Receiving Station in the first quarter of 2007. This year is very important for us because the first Thailand Earth Observation Satellite (THEOS) is to be launched. THEOS, with imaging capability of two meters in Panchromatic and 15 meters in multispectral wavelengths, is scheduled to be in orbit in October 2007. The construction of ground control segment and the new receiving station at Sriracha is now in progress. It is expected that THEOS will serve the needs of various applications both in Thailand and other countries. In the area of application, GISTDA will promote and support the use of satellite data in various fields, particularly the preparation of THEOS data applications. GISTDA will also focus on human resource development especially in area of remote sensing and GIS applications. The activities will be focused on local people more than those in the last year. As for international cooperation, GISTDA will continue cooperating with various countries both in Asia and other regions as well as international organizations. In February, GISTDA will organize the exhibition on “Thailand's Contribution on Earth Environment from Its Space-Related Activities” during the COPUOS-44th Session of Scientific and Technical Subcommittee in Vienna. Definitely, GISTDA ensures the continuation of participation and support APRSAF activities especially Sentinel Asia Project. We expect that APRSAF will be the forum benefiting all Asian countries. Finally, I wish APRSAF News to be a successful media in bridging the gap in space related fields.
GISTDA Website
http://www.gistda.or.th/Gistda/HtmlGistda/Html/index2.htm

“The Space Technology Institute (STI) was established in November 2006 by the decision of the Prime Minister of Vietnam. STI is affiliated to the Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) and its tasks are to research and develop satellite technology, to apply, especially in remote sensing, GIS and GPS; to establish infrastructure for space technology, to promote education and training activities, and to explore international cooperation. To implement the “Viet Nam Strategy for Research and Application of Space Technology” approved by the Prime Minister in June 2006, the main space activities at VAST in 2007 are to carry out feasibility study of the “Viet Nam Earth Observation Small Satellite Project (VNSat Project)” and to set up and submit a “National Research Program on Space Technology” to the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). To fulfill these tasks, VAST would like to cooperate with other countries in the region through the framework of APRSAF - an excellent forum - in order to get information and experiences to promote research and applications of space technology. VAST hopes that the APRSAF will continue its contribution by providing opportunities for sharing experiences and resources in space technology and applications among the countries in the Asia-Pacific region. On the occasion of the New Year in 2007 which is the International Heliophysical Year, VAST wishes all countries participating in APRSAF new successes in the development and applications of space technology.
VAST Website
http://www.vast.ac.vn/index.asp