News Mails - 2013

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ASIA-PACIFIC REGIONAL SPACE AGENCY FORUM (APRSAF)
News Mail No. 112 Nov/29/2013
http://www.aprsaf.org/
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- * CONTENTS

• 1. News on APRSAF: APRSAF-20 to be held shortly
• 2. News on APRSAF: Sentinel Asia JPTM2013 held in Bangkok, Thailand
• 3. Astronaut Wakata deploys PicoDragon from the ISS
• 4. LAPAN opens AIT facility
• 5. Vietnam and Bulgaria cooperation in space technology
• 6. Vietnam and Russia to advance cooperation in aerospace
• 7. Event Calendar

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* 1. News on APRSAF: APRSAF-20 to be held shortly
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The 20th session of the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum
(APRSAF-20) will be held next week, from December 3 to 6, 2013. The
final announcement has been sent to those who have registered, and is
also available online at the following URL:
http://www.aprsaf.org/annual_meetings/aprsaf20/meeting_details.php

PLEASE NOTE that onsite-registration for APRSAF-20 WILL NOT be
accepted, hence you are requested to register online in advance.
PLEASE ALSO NOTE that for security reasons all participants are
required to submit a copy of their passport at the registration desk.

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* 2. News on APRSAF: Sentinel Asia JPTM2013 held in Bangkok, Thailand
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The first Joint Project Team Meeting for Sentinel Asia STEP3 (JPTM2013)
was held at Grand Millennium Sukhumvit, Bangkok, Thailand from
November 27 to 29, 2013. The meeting was jointly organized by the
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the Asian Institute of
Technology (AIT).

The outcome of JPTM2013 will be presented at the plenary session of APRSAF-20.

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* 3. Astronaut Wakata deploys PicoDragon from the ISS
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Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata has commenced his six-month stay at
the International Space Station (ISS). During his stay at the ISS, he
will conduct various experiments. One of these experiments - deploying
small satellites including the Vietnamese satellite, PicoDragon, from
the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), or Kibo - has already been
conducted. In addition, he will conduct some educational experiments
in February, the ideas for which will be provided by students from the
Asia-Pacific region. The project named "Try Zero G 2014," is one of
the activities of the APRSAF Kibo-ABC initiative. The deadline for
receiving applications is December 6, 2013.

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* 4. LAPAN opens AIT facility
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On October 10, 2013, the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space
(LAPAN) made a public presentation of a satellite assembly,
integration, and test facility (AIT) at its satellite technology
center (PUSTEKSAT) in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia. A test to check the
functioning of a small satellite for earth observation (LAPAN-A2 or
LAPAN-ORARI), scheduled to be launched in 2014, is currently underway
at the AIT facility. Dr. Bambang S. Tejasukmana, Chairman of LAPAN,
pointed out the need to immediately consider setting up an AIT
facility for larger satellites, in addition to the existing AIT
facility, that currently provides assembly and testing services for
satellites under 100 kg in Indonesia.

Reference:
- LAPAN News (in Indonesian)
http://www.lapan.go.id/doc_news/ait.html

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* 5. Vietnam and Bulgaria cooperation in space technology
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On October 29, 2013, the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST)
announced that VAST and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) had
signed an agreement for cooperation in the field of science and
technology, including space technology. Under this agreement, space
technology is one of the priority areas in which VAST and BAS will
advance their cooperation. In addition, both the organizations will
cooperate in developing a science and technology transfer program.

References:
- VAST News (in Vietnamese)
http://www.vast.ac.vn/tin-tuc-su-kien/tin-vien/1753-ky-thoa-thuan-hop-tac-ve-khoa-hoc-va-cong-nghe-giua-vien-han-lam-khcnvn-va-vien-han-lam-khoa-hoc-bungaria
- President of the Republic of Bulgaria News (in Bulgarian)
http://www.president.bg/news1525/bulgaria-and-vietnam-are-developing-a-new-model-for-economic-cooperation.html

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* 6. Vietnam and Russia to advance cooperation in aerospace
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On November 12, 2013, the Russian President Vladimir Putin and his
Vietnamese counterpart, President Truong Tan Sang, held discussions on
matters of concern in bilateral or international/regional cooperation,
during Mr. Putin's official visit to Vietnam. The two countries agreed
on developing cooperation in aerospace as well as enhancing
cooperation for construction of nuclear power plants in Vietnam,
prioritizing energy issues such as petroleum oil and atomic energy.

On November 11, 2013, prior to his visit to Vietnam, Mr. Putin had
spoken about peaceful use of space and utilization of the Russian
navigation system GLONASS, as possible areas of cooperation with
Vietnam.

References:
- Online Newspaper of the Government of Vietnam
http://news.chinhphu.vn/Home/State-President-holds-talks-with-Russian-counterpart/201311/19452.vgp
- Kremlin News
http://eng.kremlin.ru/news/6245

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* 7. Event Calendar
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- Astroinfomatics 2013: Knowledge From Data
(9-13 December 2013, Sydney, Australia)
http://www.atnf.csiro.au/research/workshops/2013/astroinformatics/

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Copyright 2013 The APRSAF Secretariat

APRSAF News Mails are distributed to update the readers on
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APRSAF Secretariat
c/o Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
ochanomizu sola city, 4-6 Kandasurugadai, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 101-8008 Japan
Tel: +81-50-3362-5880 / Fax: +81-3-5209-3208
E-mail: secretariataprsaf.org
Web: http://www.aprsaf.org
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