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1. [[Message]]
Message from the Co-Chairperson of APRSAF-13 and new Chairman of LAPAN

2. [[Asian Space Update 1]]
The Zhongxing-22A launched successfully

3. [[Asian Space Update 2]]
Workshop Report "Earth Observation in Water Management Services"

4. [[ Asian Space Update 3 ]]
JAXA launched SOLAR-B successfully

5. [[ Event Information - October 2006 ]]

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1. [[Message]]
Message from the Co-Chairperson of APRSAF-13 and new Chairman of LAPAN
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APRSAF-13 will be held in Jakarta, Indonesia December 5-7, 2006.

As the Co-Chairperson of APRSAF-13 and the new Chairman of LAPAN, Dr.Adi Sadewo Salatun gave the following welcome message to all participants of APRSAF-13.

"On behalf of the Government of Indonesia, it is my great honor to serve as General Chairperson of the 13th session of the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF-13) with Dr. Hiroki Matsuo and announce to you that APRSAF-13 will be held from 5 to 7 December 2006 in Jakarta, Indonesia. APRSAF-13 is proposed to have a plenary session, and 4 working groups. In the plenary session, APRSAF-13 will receive the status report on specific activities aimed at the establishment of a Disaster Management Support System. I look forward to seeing you in Jakarta to exchange views and experiences toward future cooperation in space activities in the Asia-Pacific region."

* To see the full context of this message and information about APRSAF-13, please see the APRSAF website.
http://www.aprsaf.org/text/ap13_info.html

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2. [[Asian Space Update 1]]
The Zhongxing-22A successfully launched
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China's Zhongxing-22A communication satellite was successfully launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC) on a Long March 3A rocket carrier on September 13, and entered geostationary transfer orbit with a perigee of 207 kilometers and an apogee of 42,000 kilometers. The satellite will be positioned near 98 degrees East longitude and the satellite’s designed lifetime is 8 years.

The Zhongxing-22A was designed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) and will be operated by China Satcom.

This was the 91st launch for Long March family of rockets, and the 49th continuous successful launch for China.

* Source:

CAST News (Sep 13)
http://en.cast.cn/ShowArticle.asp?ArticleID=2202

CHINA View (Sep 13)
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-09/13/content_5083260.htm

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3. [[Asian Space Update 2]]
Workshop Report "Earth Observation in Water Management Services"
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The workshop "Earth Observation in Water Management Services" was held at the Rama Gardens Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand from September 26 to 28, 2006.

121 people attended the workshop. 5 main Plenary Sessions and the Opening Session were held at the workshop. Session 1,2 and 3 during Day 1 were devoted for Policy Makers. Session 4 and 5 during Day2 and 3 were for Earth Observation Providers and Water Resource Managers.

The workshop aimed to:
1. Exchange information on best practices for applications of Earth observation to water resource management in Asia and other regions.

2. Exchange information on available data and tools for applications of Earth observation to water resource management in Asia.

3. Consolidate regional requirements concerning Earth observation and capacity building activities for water resource management in Asia.

4. Discuss and propose the next step for regional capacity building projects regarding applications of Earth observation to water resource management in Asia.

The website was uploaded and presentation materials are available at the following URL:
http://www.a-a-r-s.org/ws-eowm/proceedings.php

* The workshop website
http://www.a-a-r-s.org/ws-eowm/index.php

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4. [[ Asian Space Update 3 ]]
JAXA launched SOLAR-B successfully
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The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the M-V Launch Vehicle No. 7 (M-V-7) carrying the SOLAR-B satellite as payload at 6:36 a.m. on September 23, 2006 (Japan Standard Time, JST) from the Uchinoura Space Center (USC).

JAXA started receiving signals from the SOLAR-B at 7:21 a.m. (JST) that morning at the its Santiago Station, and from those signals we verified that the SOLAR-B had successfully separated from the launch vehicle and that its solar array paddles (PDL) had been normally deployed optimally.

The SOLAR-B is Japan’s third solar physics satellite, and to observe the sun deploys It employs the large Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) which has a 50 cm aperture, a large optical telescope with 50-cm aperture,and two the X-Rray Telescope (XRT) and the Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) / extreme ultraviolet imagers,XRT and EIS. By observing simultaneously the visible surface of the Sun (its photosphere) and the solar corona, SOLAR-B aims to comprehensively understand the origin and consequences of various active phenomena which that take occur place in the corona. The SOLAR-B also uses a sun-synchronous polar orbit that will allow it to observe the Sun in detail for 8 months continuously each year.

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5. [[ Event Information - October 2006 ]]
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* Oct 1-4, 2006
ISPRS Joint Meeting with TC Presidents and Council Meeting
Goa, India

* Oct 2-6, 2006
International conference on managing forests for poverty reduction
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
http://www.fao.org/forestry/foris/webview/apfc/index.jsp?siteId=6859&sitetreeId=33592&langId=1&geoId=0

* Oct 3-6, 2006
The 13th International Conference on Neural Information Processing
Hong Kong, China
http://iconip2006.cse.cuhk.edu.hk/

* Oct 4-5, 2006
9th CSIS Symposium
Tokyo, Japan
http://www.csis.u-tokyo.ac.jp/sympo2006/index.html (Japanese)

* Oct 9-13, 2006
27th Asian Conference on Remote Sensing
Ulan Bator, Mongolia
http://www.acrs2006.mn/

* Oct 17-19, 2006
Twelfth Session of the Intergovernmental Consultative Committee on the Regional Space Applications Programme for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific and High-level Expert Group Meeting on the Preparations for the Third Ministerial Conference on Space Applications for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific
Daejeon, Korea
http://www.unescap.org/icstd/space/resap/icc/icc2006/icc_egm2006.asp

* Oct 18-19, 2006
6th Annual Forum on City Information in the Asia-Pacific Region
Shanghai, China
http://www.apcity.org/en/index.jsp

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Copyright 2006 The APRSAF Secretariat

APRSAF Secretariat

c/o. Remote Sensing Technology Center of Japan
Roppongi First Bldg. 12F, 1-9-9 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032,
Japan

Telephone: +(81 3)5572-6708
Fax: +(81 3)5572-6707