//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
************************************* T O P I C S ******************************************
1. [[Hot Topic 1]]
Australian Space Activities in 2007
2. [[Hot Topic 2]]
Space Activities at the Vietnamese Academy of Science and
Technology
(VAST) in 2007
3. [[Asian Space Update 1]]
PSLV-C7 successfully launched four satellites (10 January)
and
CARTOSAT-2 Camera Tested (12 January), India
4. [[Asian Space Update 2]]
Activities of Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC)
- A Hub of Regional Cooperation in Asia
5. [[Asian Space Update 3]]
GEOSS Symposium on Integrated Observation for Sustainable
Development in
the Asia-Pacific Region (GEOSS AP Symposium), Tokyo, Japan
- 11-12
January, 2007 -
6. [[Asian Space Update 4]]
International Forum on Tsunami and Earthquake
-Progress of the Implementation of the Hyogo Framework
for Action and
Recovery from Tsunami and Earthquake-Kobe City, Hyogo,
Japan - 15-16
January -
7. [[Hot Topic 3]]
SELENE "Wish upon the moon!" Campaign
- JAXA will deliver your name and message to the moon.
8. [[Event Information and APRSAF Website Update- Feb
- Mar 2007]]
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. [[Hot Topic 1]]
Australian Space Activities in 2007
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Year Message from Australia:
- Dr. Miriam Baltuck, Director, Canberra Deep Space Communication
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 funds (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/
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. [[Hot Topic 2]]
Space Activities at the Vietnamese Academy of Science and
Technology
(VAST) in 2007
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Year Message from Viet Nam:
- Prof. Dr. Sc. Nguyen Khoa Son, Vice President of VAST-
"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 spacetechnology
."
VAST Website
http://www.vast.ac.vn/index.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. [[Asian Space Update 1]]
PSLV-C7 successfully launched four satellites (10 January)
and
CARTOSAT-2 Camera Tested (12 January), India
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
India successfully launched PSLV-C7, ISRO's Polar Satellite
Launch
Vehicle, carrying four satellites -- India's CARTOSAT-2
and Space
capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE-1), Indonesia's LAPAN-TUBSAT
and
Argentina's PEHUENSAT-1 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre
(SDSC) SHAR,
Sriharikota, at 9:23am on 10 January, 2007.
680 kg CARTOSAT-2, which was launched into the 639 km
high polar orbit,
is an advanced remote sensing satellite capable of providing
scene-specific spot imagery. The panchromatic camera (PAN)
on board the
satellite can provide imagery with a spatial resolution
of better than
one metre and a swath of 9.6 km.
Dr. S. Krishnamurthy, Director, Publications & Public
Relations of ISRO
gave a message to APRSAF News Mail readers on 20 January.
"PSLV-C7 was the ninth consecutively successful flight
of India's Polar
Satellite Launch Vehicle. The precision with which PSLV-C7
placed all
the four satellites into the polar orbit has unequivocally
demonstrated
the sophistication, versatility and reliability of PSLV
to launch
multiple satellites.
For the first time, a Dual Launch Adopter (DLA) was used
in PSLV to
accommodate two primary satellites in tandem and the separation
of each
of the satellite and DLA after proper orientation to avoid
collision has
been successfully proved in flight. "PSLV has truly
become a workhorse
of ISRO."
On 22 January, ISRO announced that SRE-1 was
successfully recovered on
this date after being maneuvered to reenter the earth's
atmosphere and
descend over Bay of Bengal about 140km East of Sriharikota.
* Please refer to the following ISRO's press releases
for more
information about this article.
http://www.isro.org/pressrelease/Jan10_2007a.htm
http://www.isro.org/pressrelease/Jan12_2007.htm
http://www.isro.org/pressrelease/Jan22_2007.htm
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. [[Asian Space Update 2]]
Activities of Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC), Japan
-A Hub of Regional Cooperation in Asia
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The APRSAF secretariat visited the Asian Disaster Reduction
Center
(ADRC), Japan and interviewed Dr. Koji SUZUKI, Executive
Director about
ADRC activities.
ADRC was established in July 1998, with a mandate to facilitate
multinational cooperation for disaster reduction in the
Asian region.
Along with 25 member countries, ADRC pursues activities
leading to
future prosperity and safe, peaceful, and comfortable lives
of people in
Asia.
ADRC also addresses issues of concern related to disaster
reduction from
a global perspective, in cooperation with international
organizations
and initiatives, such as the International Strategy for
Disaster
Reduction (UN/ISDR), the United Nations Office for the
Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (UN/OCHA), UNESCO, the United Nations
University
(UNU), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission
for Asia and
the Pacific (UN/ESCAP), World Meteorological Organization
(WMO), and the
World Health Organization Office for the Western Pacific
(WHO/WPRO).
Its main activities are "Information Sharing", "Human
Resources
Development" and "Building Community Capabilities".
The ADRC has a program named "Visiting Researcher" as
a part of
personnel training. Every year, four disaster prevention
administration
officers are invited from 25 member countries as visiting
researchers.
Two trainees from Thailand and Mongolia are currently researching
concerning disaster prevention.
Dr. Koji SUZUKI said to us, "These approaches are
very important for
ADRC to build a relationship with member countries and
these trainees
will become the person in charge of disaster prevention
and cooperate
with us for sharing the information about disasters."
The full version of this interview will be uploaded to
the APRSAF
website soon.
ADRC Website
http://www.adrc.or.jp/top_j.php
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. [[Asian Space Update 3]]
GEOSS Symposium on Integrated Observation for Sustainable
Development in
the Asia-Pacific Region (GEOSS AP Symposium), Tokyo, Japan
- 11-12
January, 2007 -
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From 11th to 12th January, 2007, the GEOSS Symposium on
Integrated
Observation for Sustainable Development in the Asia-Pacific
Region
(GEOSS AP Symposium) was held in Tokyo, Japan. The symposium
was
organized by the Secretariat of the Group on Earth Observations
(GEO)
with the support of the Japanese Government. A total of
311 participants
attended the symposium from 30 countries.
The symposium, held with the goal of gaining a common
understanding of
future activities for realizing GEOSS (Global Earth Observation
System
of Systems) that can contribute to sustainable development
in the
Asia-Pacific region, began with a plenary session followed
by four
parallel sessions. At the plenary session, Asian countries
presented the
diverse activities related to GEOSS that are being undertaken
in their
countries. At the parallel sessions, specifically, four
agendas were
featured: Monitoring Ecosystems and Biodiversity; Resolving
the Climate
Change and Water Cycle; Monitoring Forest Fires; and Monitoring
Earthquakes.
The plenary session started with the opening addresses
of Prof. Jose
Achache (Secretariat Director, GEO), who represented the
symposium
organizer, as well as Mr. Akio Yuki (Vice Minister of Education,
Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan) who represented
the
host country. Their addresses were followed by the keynote
lecture by
Dr. Hiroo Kanamori (Professor at the California Institute
of Technology)
under the title of "Preparing for rare, great earthquakes." He
pointed
out that large earthquakes only occur rarely but they have
an enormous
impact when they do occur, and that because of this, the
long-term
monitoring of large earthquakes is difficult. He also stressed
that
earthquake data should be disclosed to researchers for
continuous use,
and that total support should be provided to the entire
process of
installation, operation, maintenance, and research to enable
effective
utilization of observation equipment networks.
Following the keynote lecture, the Asia-Pacific Network
for Global
Change Research (APN) presented its report and then proceeded
to the
introduction of GEOSS-related activities in Asia-Pacific
countries. In
the former presentation, Dr. Andrew Matthews (chair of
the APN Steering
Committee) introduced APN's goal and organizational structure
as well as
capacity building programs (CAPaBLE) that it is implementing
in the
Asia-Pacific region. The representatives from Japan, China,
India,
Indonesia, Iran, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, the Philippines,
and Thailand
made a report on their efforts for GEOSS.
For more details:
http://www.prime-intl.co.jp/geoss/
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. [[Asian Space Update 4]]
International Forum on Tsunami and Earthquake
-Progress of the Implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action and
Recovery from Tsunami and Earthquake-Kobe City, Hyogo, Japan - 15-16
January, 2007 -
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the occasion of the 2nd anniversary of the United Nations
World
Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR) and the Indian
Ocean Tsunami,
together with the 12th anniversary of the Great Hanshin-Awaji
Earthquake, the International Forum on Tsunami and Earthquake
was
organized with the theme "Progress of the Implementation
of the Hyogo
Framework for Action and Recovery from Tsunami and Earthquake" on
January 15 and 16, 2007.
This International Forum has provided an opportunity to
exchange
information and views among those involved in disaster
reduction in
Japan and abroad regarding progress in disaster reduction
activities in
line with the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA), which was
adopted at the
WCDR as a guideline for disaster risk reduction efforts
during the next
decade in the international community.
On January 15, the International Symposium, which was
open to public
participation, was held with 302 participants from 20 organizations
in
34 countries, to share information and exchange knowledge
to build up
disaster-resilient countries using the recovery processes
developed on
the basis of the experience and lessons learned from natural
disasters.
At the same time, the Symposium discussed international
cooperation for
further promotion of the HFA.
On January 16, the Experts Meeting was organized to verify
the progress
made in recovery efforts implemented in tsunami- and earthquake-hit
regions and to come up with concrete measures to achieve
better
recovery. The Experts Meeting comprises three thematic
group
discussions, on "Housing," "Livelihood," and "Organizational
and
Institutional Arrangements," to enable recovery with
a view to
rebuilding with improved structures, as well as a plenary
session.
This Forum was organized by International Recovery Platform
(IRP) Kobe,
Cabinet Office of Japan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Japan, Hyogo
Prefecture, Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC), UNDP,
UN/OCHA, ILO,
UN-Habitat, The World Bank and IFRC with the following
objectives.
1) Recognition of the important perspectives for post disaster
recovery
from devastating disasters
2) Inter-sectoral Exchange of Information of Lessons and
Experiences for
future Road Map of ongoing Disaster Recovery
3) Dissemination of Policy Feedback for the HFA through
actual recovery
activities
The Symposium will be filmed by "117 Broadband TV" (Hyogo,
Kobe), and
can be viewed from January 19 onwards at the following
websites.
You, also, will be able to view this symposium with subtitles
in late
February.
1) Welcome Remarks & Keynote Speech:
http://www.hyogo117tv.jp/movie/20070115_01.html
2) Tsunami Recovery Status Reports:
http://www.hyogo117tv.jp/movie/20070115_02.html
3) Panel Discussion:
http://www.hyogo117tv.jp/movie/20070115_03.html
International Recovery Platform (IRP) Secretariat
http://www.recoveryplatform.org
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. [[Hot Topic 3]]
SELENE "Wish upon the moon!" Campaign
-JAXA will deliver your name and message to the moon.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) plans to
launch the lunar
orbiter "SELENE" on an H-IIA Launch Vehicle from
Tanegashima Space
Center in the summer of 2007.
The SELENE is an artificial satellite that aims to collect
closely
featured scientific data on "Theformation of the
moon and its
transitional history up to today," which is the biggest
lunar
exploration project since the Apollo Project.
JAXA will accept from the public names and messages to
deliver to the
moon aboard the SELENE. Please send your wishful messages
to JAXA.
For more information on the SELENE Project including application
details, please visit:
http://www.jaxa.jp/pr/event/selene/index_e.html
* Please note that the application period is until 31 January
2007.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. [[Event Information and APRSAF Website Update- Feb - Mar 2007]]
Workshop for Space, Aeronautical and Navigation Electronics (WSANE2007)
at Australian Resources Research Centre (ARRC) in Perth, Western
Australia - 15-18 April, 2007 -
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The technical group on Space, Aeronautical and Navigational
Electronics
(SANE), and the Institute of Electronics, Information and
Communication
Engineers (IEICE), Japan are planning to hold an International
Workshop
entitled "Workshop for Space, Aeronautical and Navigation
Electronics
(WSANE2007) " It will be held on 15 to 18 April 2007
at the Australian
Resources Research Centre (ARRC) in Perth, Western Australia.
The objective of WSANE2007 is to provide an opportunity
for system
engineers and researchers to discuss new and viable technical
topics of
electronics system in spacecraft, aircraft, ships and group
facilities.
The topics covered will include but are not limited to
the following:
(1) Satellite and scientific observation technology,
(2) Remote sensing and scientific systems,
(3) Radar systems and applications,
(4) Navigational and communication systems.
For more information, please visit:.
-Call for Paper: http://www.ieice.org/cs/sane/WSANE2007/CFP.pdf
-WSANE2007 : http://www.ieice.org/cs/sane/WSANE2007/
-IEICE : http://www.ieice.org/eng/
-Submission : http://www.ieice.org/cs/sane/eng/
* Feb 19-21, 2007
APCO Australasia 2007 Conference and Exhibition, Queensland,
Australia
http://www.intergraph.com/events/APCO_2007/default.asp
* Feb 21-23, 2007
Inaugural IEEE International Digital EcoSystems Technologies
Conference,
Cairns, Australia
http://www.ieee-dest.curtin.edu.au/
* March 5-9, 2007
11th Annual CARIS User Group Conference and Educational
Sessions, Kuala
Lumpur,
Malaysia
http://www.caris.com/conferences/caris2007/
* March 8-9, 2007
Housing Congress 2007, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
http://www.ahuri.edu.au/calendar/event.asp?ContentID=event_20061023
* March 12-14, 2007
International Conference on Water and Flood Management
(ICWFM), Dhaka,
Bangladesh
http://teacher.buet.ac.bd/icwfm/index.htm
* March 13-16, 2007
GEOFORM+ 2007, Moscow, Russia
http://www.geoexpo.ru/
* March 21-22, 2007
CRCSI Workshop: Geophysical Image Processing, Sydney, Australia
http://www.crcsi.com.au/pages/CalendarDetails.aspx?tabid=1&AVCalendarPage=1&Mid=1&ItemID=106&viewdate=21%20March%202007
* March 21-23, 2007
3rd Asian Space Conference, Singapore
http://pdcc.ntu.edu.sg/ASC2007/
* March 27-30, 2007
Asia Modeling Symposium (ASM 2007), Phuket, Thailand
* March 28-30, 2007
Intergraph Australia User Conference 2007-Security, Government' Infrastructure,
Victoria, Australia
http://www.intergraph.com/events/Intergraph_Australia_User_Conference_2007/default.asp
+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+=
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 | 
