INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON

EARTH OBSERVATION SMALL SATELLITES FOR REMOTE SENSING APPLICATIONS

13 - 16 NOVEMBER 2007

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

Organisers

Background

We are motivated by a desire to concentrate on the remote sensing applications of small satellites, both in terms of original mission definition and in terms of data accessibility and utilization. It seems to be widely agreed that the days of "all-singing, all-dancing" missions, of which Envisat is a prime example, are numbered; they take too long to plan and too long to construct and integrate, while too many compromises have to be made between different objectives and different instruments, and a failure of the whole system means the deaths of many different projects. The future is likely to see more small satellites, each of which is dedicated to a particular mission objective and carries a single instrument. More and more countries around the world are becoming involved in Earth observation from space, not just in using data from the major established systems but also in constructing their own systems. Malaysia is among these countries and this proposal is particularly timely given the preparation and the impending launch of the Malaysian RazakSAT 2005.

We are aware that there is an established series of conferences on small satellites run by the AIAA/USU, but they are all-embracing. It seems to us that there is scope for a conference, which would concentrate on the remote sensing aspects and which, while being international, would also be more accessible to workers from the Asia-Pacific region.

Objective of the Workshop

The objective of the workshop is to provide a platform for scholars and professionals in the small satellite community to review recent successes, explore new directions, and introduce emerging technologies in small spacecraft development for remote sensing application. It is also hoped that this workshop will create an excellent environment for networking and communicating with experts in industry, and academic fields.

Workshop Themes

The Conference offers a program of international relevance, focusing on the key challenges and opportunities facing the small satellite community today.

•  Fundamental and applied aspects related to small satellite technology for remote sensing

•  New concepts of small satellites for remote sensing

•  Small satellite key technologies development for remote sensing

•  Launch vehicles and ground infrastructure

•  Design, calibration and validation of small satellites for remote sensing

•  Use of constellations of small satellites for remote sensing

•  Information extraction from small-satellite data for operational purposes; data distribution

Programme

Keynote speeches and panel discussion

Contributed scientific and technical oral presentations

Contributed scientific and technical poster presentations

Exhibition

There will be a commercial and non-commercial exhibition.

Scientific Visits

There will be an opportunity, one afternoon during the Workshop, for participants to choose to participate in one of three scientific visits: to MACRES (the Malaysian Centre for Remote Sensing), to ATSB (Astronautic Technology (M) Sdn Bhd) or to the ANGKASA Ground Station at Sungai Lang.

Pre-workshop tutorial sessions

Pre-workshop tutorial training sessions will be arranged on a number of relevant topics.

Post-workshop excursions

Depending on demand there will be post-Workshop excursions arranged to locations in and around Kuala Lumpur. Extra payment will be required.

Registration

The registration fee is US$300 (US$100 for Malaysians and bona fide students), which covers participation in all workshop sessions and technical exhibition, workshop proceedings, welcome reception, lunches and coffee breaks, technical visits and the workshop dinner. Participants will be responsible for all other expenses such as accommodation, transportation, pre-workshop tutorials and post-Workshop excursions. The URL of the Workshop's website is:

http://www.eoss2007.org/index.asp

This will be updated regularly.

Proposed dates

13 - 16 November 2007. This will be the week following the annual Asian Conference on Remote Sensing which will be held in Kuala Lumpur from 5-9 November 2007.

Proposed location

The Kuala Lumpur Conference Centre, KLCC, situated in central Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, near to the landmark Petronas twin towers.

Expected attendance

200 -300 participants

Important Dates

Deadline for Abstract - 5 February 2007

Notification of paper acceptance - 12 March 2007

Deadline for full paper submission - 13 August 2007

Abstracts and papers should be prepared according to the guidelines for ISPRS sponsored meetings and these guidelines will be found on the ISPRS website at http://www.isprs.org/documents/orangebook.html . Abstracts should be submitted via the Workshop's website (specifying whether the paper is to be considered for oral presentation or for poster presentation):

http://www.eoss2007.org/index.asp

or, in the case of difficulty, by email to:

apcracknell774787@yahoo.co.uk

as WORD file attachments.

Publication

Accepted papers will be included in a CD that will be distributed at the beginning of the Workshop (at least one of the authors must have registered to attend the Workshop before the deadline for full paper submission deadline, otherwise the paper will not be included). A booklet of abstracts will also be distributed at the beginning of the Workshop. After the Workshop, papers will be peer-reviewed and accepted papers will be published afterwards, maybe as a volume in the ISPRS Book Series.

Scientific Committee

Chairman: Prof. Dr. Arthur P. Cracknell

Co-Chairman: Prof. Dr. Mohd Ibrahim Seeni Mohd

Members:

M. Bekhti (Algeria) bekhtim@cnts.dz

Dr T.R. Bretschneider (Singapore) astimo@ntu.edu.sg

Alain de Leffe (Toulouse, France) alain.deleffe@cnes.fr

Dr Darasri Dowreang (Thailand) darasri@gisdata.or.th

Mr Norhizam Hamzah (ATSB)

Prof. Dr Mazlan Hashim (UTM) mazlan@fksg.utm.my

Prof. Fei-Bin Hsiao (Taiwan) fbhsiao@mail.ncku.edu.tw

Dr. Ee-Eul Kim (South Korea) eek@satreci.com

Dr Nafizah Goriman Khan (ANGKASA)

Y. Bhg. Dato' Nik Nasruddin Mahmood (MACRES) nnm@macres.gov.my

Dr Laili Nordin (MACRES) laili@macres.gov.my

Dr. Sias Mostert (South Africa) mostert@sunspace.co.za

Robert Meurer (USA) bob.meunier@aeroastro.com

Dr. Reiner Sandau (Berlin, Germany) reiner.sandau@dlr.de

Prof. Sir Martin Sweeting (UK) m.sweeting@sstl.co.uk

Dr Craig I. Underwood (UK) c.underwood@ee.surrey.ac.uk

Local Organising committee

Chairman: Assoc. Prof. Dr Mustafa Din Subari (ANGKASA)

Co-Chairman: Prof. Dr. Mazlan Hashim (UTM)

Members

Prof Dr. Kamaruzaman Jusoh (UPM)

Dr. Ab.Latif Ibrahim (UTM)

Dr. Laily Nordin (MACRES)

Dr. Nafifah Goriman Khan (ANGKASA)

Dr. Ahmad Sabirin Arshad (ATSB)

Mr. Muhammod Zulkarnain Abd. Rahman (UTM)