************************************* T O P I C S ******************************************

1. [[Asian Space Update 1]]
The sunrise of the world 2007
The latest excellent results of SOLAR-B (Hinode) Japan

2. [[Asian Space Update 2]]
Geostationary Orbit Injection of the Engineering Test Satellite VIII "KIKU No. 8"
- January 9, 2007 -

3. [[Asian Space Update 3]]
Korea selects two finalists to become country's first astronaut
- December 25, 2006 -

4. [[Asian Space Update 4]]
Workshop on harmonization of forest and land cover classification using LCCS for Asia-Pacific Region, India
- December 4 to 8, 2006 -

5. [[Asian Space Update 5]]
IPSTAR, Thailand ready to provide nationwide service in China All three Chinese gateways now completed, Thailand - December 26, 2006 China's CBSN to start deploying the first 5,000 IPSTAR User Terminals

6. [[Interview]]
Activities of the National Coordinating Agency for Surveys and Mapping (BAKOSURTANAL), Indonesia

7. [[Event Information and APRSAF Website Update- Jan - Feb 2007]]

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1. [[Asian Space Update 1]]
The sunrise of the world 2007
The latest excellent results of SOLAR-B (Hinode) Japan
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"Hinode" means "sunrise" in Japanese.
At the beginning of 2007, APRSAF secretariat would like to introduce to all APRSAF members the latest excellent results of SOLAR-B as the sunrise of the world 2007.

Hinode (SOLAR-B) is a Japanese solar physics satellite with three advanced telescopes developed by international collaborations between Japan, US, and UK. After its successful launch on September 22, 2006 (UT), Hinode is now in a sun-synchronous polar orbit, which allows it to observe the sun for
uninterrupted periods lasting months at a time. Hinode is now providing us with a lot of excellent scientific image data on solar activity.
The initial results released to the public last November and December indicate that the spacecraft and telescopes are working perfectly.
http://hinode.nao.ac.jp/news_e/20061220_press_e/

Hinode employs three telescopes to observe the sun from its surface to the corona with three different wavelengths. Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) is a 50cm visible-light telescope with capabilities for measuring the evolution of magnetic field structures on the solar surface with high spatial resolution up to 0.2 arcsec. X-Ray Telescope (XRT) obtains clear images of the solar corona with 1 arcsec spatial resolution. Extreme-ultraviolet imaging spectrometer (EIS) observes spectra of EUV lines emerging from the corona and the transition region, enabling quantitative analysis of the corona, especially the motions and temperature of the plasma in the corona.

With these advanced telescopes, Hinode will contribute to the understanding of energy buildup, release processes and heating occurring in the solar atmospheres. Also, Hinode's data will be widely used in
order to better understand basic physical processes important for the space weather forecast. To maximize the scientific output from Hinode, Hinode's observations have started to be coordinated for collaboration and exploiting synergies between Hinode and other solar missions and between Hinode and
ground-based observatories. Collaboration with Hinode mission is greatly encouraged.
Latest information is available at Hinode web site.
http://hinode.nao.ac.jp/index_e.shtml

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2. [[Asian Space Update 2]]
Geostationary Orbit Injection of the Engineering Test Satellite VIII "KIKU No. 8"
- January 9, 2007 -
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The ETS-VIII satellite or "KIKU No. 8" developed by JAXA was successfully launched at 3:32 pm on December 18, 2006 from the Tanegashima Space Center and was put into the scheduled geosynchronous
drift orbit* on December 25, seven days after the separation from the launch vehicle H-IIA.
http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2006/12/20061225_kiku8_e.html

The large deployable antenna reflector for sending was successfully deployed at 8:10 pm on December 26 following the deployment of one for receiving. The satellite is in good condition.
http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2006/12/20061226_kiku8-2_e.html

JAXA is currently carrying out the initial functional verification of the onboard equipment in cooperation with the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) and Nippon Telegraph
and Telephone Corporation (NTT,) who are the collaborative development organizations of the "KIKU No. 8". The basic experiments will start in late April.
http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2007/01/20070109_kiku8_e.html

ETS-VIII will make our lives more comfortable.
The mission of ETS-VIII is not only to improve the environment for mobile-phone-based communications, but also to contribute to the development of technologies for a satellite-based multimedia broadcasting system for mobile devices. It will play an important role in the provision of services and information such as the transmission of CD-quality audio and video, more reliable voice and data communications, global positioning of and broadcasting to moving objects such as cars, faster disaster relief, etc. Experiments in the fundamental technology for satellite-positioning using a high-precision clock system will be conducted between ETS-VIII and GPS through the reception of signals transmitted from the clock.
http://i-space.jaxa.jp/satellite/ETS-VIII.html

JAXA will carry out joint research on High Accuracy Clock (HAC) Synchronization Experiment with the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Australia, and the King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology
Ladkrabang (KMITL) Thailand.

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3. [[Asian Space Update 3]]
Korea selects two finalists to become country's first astronaut
- December 25, 2006
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The Korean government on Monday, 25 December chose two finalists who will undergo intensive tests and training in the coming months to become the country's first astronaut.

Ko San, a researcher at the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, and Yi So-yeon, a doctoral candidate at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, were selected from among 36,206 applicants who submitted applications from April through July this year, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) said.

Of the two, only one will travel on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station in April 2008. The astronaut is scheduled to stay on board the station orbiting the Earth for seven or eight days
before returning home.KARI said that chief considerations for the selection were how they
appeal to the general public, how they act as ambassadors of Korea's budding space program, their physical fitness, ability to respond to unforeseen situations, general aptitude for space flight and cooperation with foreign astronauts, etc.

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4. [[Asian Space Update 4]]
Workshop on Harmonization of Forest and Land Cover Classification using LCCS for Asia-Pacific Region , India
- December 4 to 8, 2006
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The workshop was organized jointly by Global Land Cover Network (GLCN), Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting Project (MAR) and Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) under sponsorship of the governments of Italy, Japan, Netherlands, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) with local support from the FAO representation in India and the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun, India from December 4 to 8, 2006.

The scope of the workshop is to review the forest classifications in Asia Pacific countries and initiate discussion and dialog on their harmonization / standardization. The workshop provided training to land
mapping experts, especially forestry professionals dealing directly with remote sensing based estimation of forest cover and or national forest inventories, in use of the GLCN technologies including the Land Cover Classification System (LCCS). The LCCS training assisted to discuss the harmonizing and standardizing of the forest cover classification using remote sensing among Asian countries. The benefits of LCCS in allowing standardization of mapping legends was accepted and recommendation made
for the generation of standard classes for FRA 2010. In addition, the workshop provided an opportunity to discuss information requirements for conventions on biological diversity and climate change and train
participants in techniques for monitoring forest cover (in particular, changes in density, deforestation and forest fragmentation) based on an agreed LCCS classification.

A total of 40 persons attended the workshop of which 20 were participants from 12 countries of the Asia-Pacific Region besides India and there were 10 resource persons from various national and international organizations.

The workshop was also attended in an observer capacity by officials and scientists from various national departments as well as IIRS, who also facilitated the training modules on LCCS and GEOVIS based on their experience from the Indian case studies.

Workshop Impact: The workshop participants were of one opinion that a regional harmonization of vegetation is good for the countries and the region as a whole. They agreed unanimously that a regional
classification is feasible and also presented an approach for the purpose. The process needs to be further continued and brought to a logical conclusion through a country-led process, for which FAO-UN Agencies may provide catalytic support.

For the details, please refer to the workshop website:
http://www.fao.org/gtos/meetLCCS5.html

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5. [[Asian Space Update 5]]
IPSTAR ready to provide nationwide service in China All three Chinese gateways now completed China's CBSN to start deploying the first 5,000 IPSTAR User Terminals
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Shin Satellite Public Company Limited ("SATTEL"), Asia's leading commercial satellite operator, announced on December 26, 2006 the completion of the construction of the two IPSTAR gateways in Shanghai and Guangzhou after the first gateway in Beijing was inaugurated in May of this year. With the completion of all three gateways in China, IPSTAR service will be available nationwide in China through IPSTAR's partners, China Satellite Communications Corporation (ChinaSatCom) and its subsidiary, China Broadband Satellite Network (CBSN). Following this major milestone, Shin Satellite and CBSN signed a purchase contract for the first lot of 5,000 IPSTAR user terminals to be delivered in the coming months. This first lot of user terminals will be used for many pilot projects such as extending the communications services to suburban and rural areas of China, supporting the government's rural uplifting policy. CBSN will also provide high multimedia speed Internet with voice and video for enterprise customers, schools, mining sites, and government offices scattered all over the country.

Deputy Chairman and CEO of CBSN Mr Feng Qing said "China is a very large country with thousands of places and hundreds of millions of people who are not served with proper telecom services, causing significant economic and welfare disadvantages. Such so called “Digital Divide Gap" has been a serious concern and hence a policy is mandatory by the government to fill such gap by means of utilizing this kind of breakthrough technology such as IPSTAR. CBSN is the joint venture subsidiary of China Satcom, China's only official state owned enterprise for satellite service. CBSN is dedicated to providing broadband satellite service and we are very excited with the opportunity to exploit IPSTAR technology and satellite to help fulfill the government's mandate of rural telecom, as well as to serve the advanced and upper markets of multimedia government, corporate and consumer users." Chief Commercial Officer of IPSTAR Co., Ltd. Mr Yongsit Rojsrivichaikul said: "The completion of all three gateways in China is a major milestone for IPSTAR. IPSTAR service can now be commercially deployed nationwide in China, our biggest market under the IPSTAR service footprint with capacity of over 12 Gbps representing around 25% of our total satellite capacity. Our partner, CBSN will begin to roll out the first lot of the 5,000 IPSTAR User Terminals very soon. Shin Satellite has been working closely with China Satcom and CBSN throughout these years. We expect that these first installed 5,000 sites across the country will serve as a convincing, real, and live demonstration and advertising to potential users and policy makers of how IPSTAR can help serve their requirements. China is becoming the world’s largest satellite market and we are very pleased with the progress in working with our partners, China Satcom and CBSN."

After the successful launch of THAICOM 4 (IPSTAR-1) satellite last year, IPSTAR now provides full nationwide broadband satellite services in seven countries including Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and China. IPSTAR will continue to expand its service coverage to the rest of Asia-Pacific in the coming year.

Shin Satellite Public Company Limited
http://www.thaicom.net/default_main.aspx

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6. [[Interview]]
Activities of the National Coordinating Agency for Surveys and Mapping (BAKOSURTANAL), Indonesia
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APRSAF secretariat visited to the National Coordinating Agency for Surveys and Mapping (BAKOSURTANAL), Indonesia and interviewed Ir. Rudolf W. Matindas, M.Sc (Chairman of BAKOSURTANAL), Dr. Ir. Poentodewo SSO, M.Surv.Sc (Head of Center for Topographic Base Mapping and Spatial Planning/PDRTR), Ir. Bebas Purnawan, M.Sc (Head of Centre for Network System and Spatial Data Standardization) and Elyta Widyaningrum, ST (Staff of PDRTR) about the following :-
*History of BAKOSURTANAL
*Current Activities
*Future Plan
*International Cooperation

Located in Jl. Raya Jakarta-Bogor, Cibinong, the National Coordinating Agency for Surveys and Mapping (BAKOSURTANAL), as the non departmental government institution and being responsible for the president of Indonesia, conducts governmental duties in the field of survey and mapping according to regulations.

Current Activities of BAKOSURTANAL which is utilizing Remotely Sensing Data is implementing Airborne Interferometry Synthetic Aperture Radar (IFSAR) for Topographic Mapping in Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Central Sumatra, and Buru Island for Base map production with scale 1:50.000 and 1:25.000, Analogue Aerial Photograph for Mapping in Kalimantan in 1:50.000 scale and Digital Aerial Camera for Aceh mapping with scale 1:10.000 dan 1:5000. They are also using remote sensing data for our Digital Marine Resource Mapping project, Indonesian Atlas and Earth Observation activities. In the future, they will complete the development Indonesian Spatial Data Infrastructure, to fill gap and to update our national-wide fundamental geospatial dataset, with recent technology optimally and available in market.

The full version of these interviews are uploaded to the APRSAF website.
http://www.aprsaf.org/

BAKOSURTANAL website:
http://www.bakosurtanal.go.id/

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7. [[Event Information and APRSAF Website Update- Jan - Feb 2007]]
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* Jan 11-12, 2007
GEOSS Symposium on Integrated Observation for Sustainable Development in the Asia-Pacific Region
Tokyo, Japan
http://www.prime-intl.co.jp/geoss/

* Jan 17-18, 2007
National Conference on Environment and Community Development 2007 Penang, Malaysia

* Jan 22-25, 2007
Map World Forum Hyderabad, India
http://www.mapworldforum.org/index.htm

* Jan 23-27, 2007
International Dialog on Science and Practice in Sustainable Development Chiang Mai, Thailand

* Jan 30-31, 2007
International Conference on Urban Planning and Environment: Strategies and Challenges, Mumbai, India
http://www.elphinstonecollege.ac.in/conference/conf.html

* Feb 5-7, 2007
International Workshop on Integrated Water Resource Management, Bangalore, India
http://www.angelfire.com/planet/kerf/

* Feb 5-10, 2007
UNESCAP Third Ministerial Conference on Space Applications for Sustanable Development in Asia and the Pacific
http://www.unescap.org/icstd/space/3MC/3MC

* Feb 11-15, 2007
35th Annual Conference of the Australian Map Circle, Canberra, Australia
http://australianmapcircle.org.au/amc2007/index.html

* Feb 15-17, 2007
Conference on "Current Trends in Remote Sensing and GIS Applications",
West Bengal, India
http://www.geocities.com/iitkgpconf2007/

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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