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1. Bangladeshi Student Selected for Zero-Gravity Flight
2. Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) launched Disaster Mitigation Alarm Information System
3. CubeSat Project in College of Science and Technology, Nihon University, Japan
4. The courses of the Center for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (CSSTEAP), India
5. [[Event Information and APRSAF Website Updates - August - September 2007]]

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1. Bangladeshi Student Selected for Zero-Gravity Flight
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According to Mr. F. R. Sarker, the General Secretary of the Bangladesh Astronomical Society, a Bangladeshi student has been selected for this year's zero-gravity flight by the World Space Week Association, an organization based in Houston, USA affiliated with the United Nations that is engaged in raising awareness about space among students all over the world. Under its "Youth Inspiration Program," the World Space Week Association arranges a zero-gravity flight free of charge for meritorious students who are studying in extreme poverty. This year, four students have been selected and they hail from Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia and the Czech Republic. They will experience zero-gravity aboard a special plane on October 6, 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

For more details please see the APRSAF website:
http://www.aprsaf.org/feature/feature_16.html

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2. Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) launched Disaster Mitigation Alarm Information System
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LAPAN has established a Disaster Mitigation Alarm Information System by using satellite remote sensing and releases satellite information about disasters on its website every day.

Dr. Orbita Roswintiarti, the Head of Natural Resources and Environmental Monitoring Division of LAPAN, said "LAPAN receives data from US radiometer MODIS (MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and US environmental satellite NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) at three receiving stations in Indonesia. MODIS covers all Indonesia's islands while NOAA covers Sumatra and Kalimantan".

Also she said that raising an alarm in near-real time when a natural disaster strikes such as an earthquake, flood, volcanic eruption, or landslide, which happen frequently, seem to minimize the damage. This system is very beneficial to the people of Indonesia and is a way to share disaster information with neighboring countries as well.

LAPAN website (the Disaster Mitigation Alarm Information system):
http://www.rs.lapan.go.id/SIMBA

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3. CubeSat Project in College of Science and Technology, Nihon University, Japan
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The CubeSat, nanosatellite, project was proposed by Prof. Twiggs of Stanford University in 1999 and more than 100 university laboratories, companies, and research institutes have been developing CubeSat so far. Associate Professor Yasuyuki Miyazaki, the College of Science and Technology of Nihon University, reported on their own CubeSat activities.

"The students in our laboratory have originally developed their CubeSat named SEEDS (Space Engineering Education Satellite), which measures 10 cubic centimeters and weighs 1 kg. This satellite contains gyrosensors, geomagnetic sensors, temperature sensors, and a newly-developed transceiver. The main mission of SEEDS is very simple-to demonstrate the bus system.
We are planning to launch SEEDS into a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 630 km carried by the Indian PSLV rocket in September or October 2007. Through this project, I expect the students to realize how hard space development is, and at the same time I hope they can feel the satisfaction of succeeding in their work."

Full text of the article:
www.aprsaf.org/feature/feature_17.html

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4. The courses of the Center for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (CSSTEAP), India
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CSSTEAP was established under affiliation to the United Nations in India during 1995. The center is accepting students, particularly from the Asia-Pacific region. Dr. George Joseph, the Director of the CSSTEAP, introduced that the center has four postgraduate level courses such as Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System (RS & GIS), Satellite Communications (SATCOM), Satellite Meteorology and Global Climate (SATMET), and Space and Atmospheric Science.

The Centre also organizes about one month short-term workshops on the above courses.

For the students who successfully finish their postgraduate course, CSSTEAP offers the opportunity to continuing for a Master of Technology (M. Tech) degree in collaboration with Andhra University (AU) in Visakhapatnam, India.

CSSTEAP website:
http://www.cssteap.org/index.html

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5. [[Event Information and APRSAF Website Updates - August - September 2007]]
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*July 30 - August 4, 2007
Asia Oceania Geosciences Society, 4th Annual Meeting
Bangkok, Thailand
http://www.asiaoceania.org/aogs2007/

*August 1-3, 2007
7th International Workshop of Geographical Information System
Beijing, China
http://www.cpgis.org/2006website/news/keynews/firstannouncement-iwgis.pdf

*August 14-16, 2007
Map Asia 2007
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
http://www.mapasia.org/

*August 21-22, 2007
Geography 2007 Conference
Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
http://geografi.um.edu.my/bm/persidangan_2007/persidangan_2007.htm

*August 21-25, 2007
International Disaster Reduction Conference (IDRC-Harbin) 2007
Harbin, China
http://www.harbin2007.cn/

*August 28-29, 2007
ISPRS Workshop on Updating Geo-spatial Database with Imagery & 5th ISPRS Workshop on DMGIS
Urumchi, Xinjiang, China
http://isprs-wg41.nsdi.gov.cn/Xinjiang/Urumqi.htm

*August 29-September 1, 2007
2nd Indonesian Geospatial Technology Exhibition
Bakosurtanal;Jakarta, Indonesia
http://www.geospatial-exh.com/

*September 5-7, 2007
The 4th Sentinel Asia Joint Project Team Meeting
Manila, Philippines
http://www.aprsaf.org/data/jptm4_pdf/JPTM4_1st_Announcement.pdf

*September 13-14, 2007
Location Asia 2007
Hong Kong
http://www.location.net.in/asia/index.htm

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Copyright 2007 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
Tel:+81-3-5572-6708 / Fax:+81-3-5572-6707