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International space projects in the Asia-Pacific region

Key Conclusions

Roscosmos has serious plans for Far East development

“Contacts in the Asia-Pacific Region are growing at a very fast pace. The region is continuously playing a more important role. Major plans are in store for the development of the Vostochny spaceport and the region overall,” said Igor Komarov, Chief Executive Officer of Roscosmos.

Challenges

Space debris: man-made hazard

“We are cooperating very closely with China in three main areas. One of them is related to rocket engines and carrier vehicles. The second one comprises everything pertaining to the orbital segment. The third area, monitoring outer space from the position of its man-made contamination, has been put together this year. Space is an environment not only for spacecraft but for human beings also. The question arises regarding hazards posed by space debris. This is a very crucial challenge. About 18,000 space objects are in outer space and just 7% of them are functioning. The other ones are space garbage weighing nearly 6,000 tonnes. This problem has to be resolved. This is a common problem,” noted Yuriy Makarov, Director, Joint Department for Strategic Planning and State Space Programs, State Space Corporation ROSCOSMOS.

No country alone can meet growing consumer demand for space technologies

“Two areas of space activities, earth-remote sensing and communications, make the greatest contribution to the economy. Roscosmos has a group making it possible to initiate implementation of the Digital Earth project. We understand that the consumer needs online information on the Internet in keeping the cadaster, cartography, regional development planning, forests control, land use monitoring, pinpointing fires, assessment of flood situations, and monitoring man-made accidents. At the same time, the consumer needs up-to-date information.

We have come to face-to-face with the challenge that no other national satellite group is able to perform, meeting the growing demands of consumers. We invite all countries to pool their information resources together. Over 90% of communications are provided by spacecraft on the geostationary orbit.

New challenges appeared on the market: global coverage, real time, openness, multi-functionality and scalability. We may consolidate our efforts. Not a single country is capable of creating all the conditions for such a group,” said Andrey Tyulin, General Director of Russian Space Systems.

Solutions

Promoting international cooperation in space

“The Asian forum of space agencies has been held annually since 1993. Greater and greater expectations are associated with it from year to year in terms of discussing international cooperation in the sphere of space exploration. It will be held in Bangalore, India, from November 14 to 17,” said Mamoru Endou, Senior Vice President, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

“Collaborative efforts are highly important. We need to work for the future. If we work together, the outcome will be better. We are holding experiments in cooperation with Russia on synthesis of proteins in a micro-gravity environment,” said Kimia Yui, Astronaut, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

“An agreement to launch a Singaporean spacecraft to monitor outer space was signed this year. We have proposals on the monitoring technology. They refer to consolidating the information resource of countries using space as an economic sector with the highest intensity. Three-fourths of spaceports are situated on the territory of the Asia-Pacific Region. Consolidating efforts in terms of space security is highly important,” Yuriy Makarov emphasized.

“Russia and China are cooperating in Beidou and GLONASS [global positioning systems] connection sphere. Cooperation in communications and emergencies public address starts with the aid of One Belt, One Road policy,” noted Tian Yulong, Secretary General, China National Space Administration (CNSA).

Developing new areas

“The Earth is very small and can only withstand 12 bln people. We have to consider the issue of pragmatic space development, that is, departing to outer space. We suggest creating a project on the basis of the Far Eastern University for development of unconventional engines based on pressure of photons. Rocket fuel will not be enough to research remote worlds. Unconventional sources of propulsion in space are needed. Application of a ‘photonic sail’ will make possible to support a stable position of artificial Earth satellites, ensure the delivery of goods to planets of the inner solar system, significantly reduce travel time between planets, dispatch spacecraft from the orbit of Venus or Mercury outside the solar system, support operations for protecting Earth from space collisions and space debris collection,” said Yuriy Kulchin, Director, Institute of Automation and Control Processes Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.