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REMARKS FOR THE KIBO SESSION
AT THE
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONAUTICAL FEDERATION (IAF) WORKSHOP
BY SIMONETTA DI PIPPO
DIRECTOR
UNITED NATIONS OFFICE FOR OUTER SPACE AFFAIRS
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONAUTICAL CONGRESS (IAC)
30 September 2018
Bremen, Germany
Ladies and gentlemen,
On behalf of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, I am honoured to welcome you all here today to the Kibo session to discuss the KiboCUBE programme and celebrate the important achievements of its winners.
The United Nations/Japan Cooperation Programme on CubeSat Deployment from the International Space Station Japanese Experiment Module, or "KiboCUBE" programme was launched as a dedicated collaboration between the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and our Office in September 2015. The programme strives to offer educational and research institutions located in developing countries the opportunity to deploy cube satellites - CubeSats - from the International Space Station's Kibo Module.
KiboCUBE uniquely facilitates direct access to space for developing and non-spacefaring countries by offering deployment opportunities from the ISS free of charge, making space exploration a truly international endeavour. KiboCUBE is also part of UNOOSA's broader Human Space Technology Initiative which aims to involve more countries in human spaceflight and space exploration activities, and to increase the benefits from the outcomes of such activities through international cooperation.
There have been four distinguished winners of the KiboCube programme to date. The 1st round of KiboCUBE enabled a team from the University of Nairobi in Kenya to develop a cube satellite that was successfully launched from the ISS on 11 May 2018. As Kenya's first satellite, it is being used to test technologies developed for the future launch of a larger earth observation satellite and collect data that can be used for monitoring agriculture and coastal areas.
In the 2nd round, a team from the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala developed a CubeSat that is intended for deployment later this year. The Guatemalan CubeSat will test a multispectral sensor prototype for monitoring the concentration of harmful algae blooms over inland bodies of water. A CubeSat developed by the Mauritius Research Council was selected in the 3rd round, as the first Mauritian satellite. The Mauritian CubeSat will collect thermal infrared images of Mauritius and its surrounding areas, while the team also tests its onboard communication capabilities. Finally, most recently, Surya University in Indonesia was also selected for KiboCUBE 3rd round, upon developing a CubeSat with an Automatic Package Reporting System (APRS) that transmits APRS messages to ground stations and allows two-way communication for educational and disaster mitigation purposes.
The impressive projects and achievements of all four KiboCUBE winners are a testament to the immense potential benefits of space exploration, which can be greatly enhanced by international collaboration in the peaceful uses of outer space.
On that note it is my distinct pleasure to recognize that representatives of three of these winners from Kenya, Mauritius and Indonesia are here with us today. We are proud to honour their achievements today at the Kibo session of 26th Workshop on Space Technology for Socio-Economic Benefits, and are grateful that they can be with us. We look forward to continue following the progress and see the outcomes of their experiments and wish each of them success in their future space endeavours.
The KiboCUBE initiative enables inspirational accomplishments such as these by building capacity and increasing access to space particularly for emerging space nations. In light of these successes, we remain committed to offering these opportunities to more prospective candidates worldwide in the future, and bringing the benefits of space to all of humankind.
Thank you.