The first Technical Team’s Meeting on Sentinel Asia Step-3 system was held in Taipei, hosted by Academia Sinica
June 2019
On 6 June 2019, the first comprehensive Technical Team’s Meeting on Sentinel Asia Step-3 system was held in Taipei. The meeting was hosted by Academia Sinica in close cooperation with NSPO/NARLabs. Technical staff members from Academia Sinica, NSPO/NARLabs, GISTDA, and JAXA attended the meeting and reviewed the current status as well as challenges of establishing Sentinel Asia Step-3 system, and discussed the way forward.
Sentinel Asia has developed stepwise since its establishment. In its current phase “Step-3”, Sentinel Asia aims to cover the entire disaster management cycle with the spirit of “joint implementation” in which each member shares its resources and expertise.
In this context, GISTDA had proposed to provide Sentinel Asia with the Operation Planning Tool for Earth-observation Missions (“OPTEMIS”) during APRSAF held in 2017 in Bangalore, India. APRSAF had noted the proposal from GISTDA with appreciation, as OPTEMIS would significantly enhance the efficacy of Sentinel Asia’s emergency observation activities.
Also, NARLabs had offered to contribute, through Academia Sinica, cloud resources for the Sentinel Asia Step-3 system. The offer had been welcomed by Sentinel Asia members, and in response to the recommendation made at the Joint Project Team Meeting held in Awaji, Japan, “the Cooperation Agreement between NARLabs and Sentinel Asia Joint Project Team” was signed at NSPO/NARLabs in Hsinchu, Taiwan in January 2019.
Based upon the background, through several discussions of members involved, the both contributions have been combined: OPTEMIS by GISTDA is to be integrated into Sentinel Asia Step-3 system to be constructed by JAXA, whose cloud resources will be also contributed by Academia Sinica through NSPO/NARLabs. Also, the dedicated Technical Team composed of NSPO/NARLabs with Academia Sinica, GISTDA, and JAXA was established.
The meeting on 4 June was the first comprehensive face-to-face meeting of the Technical Team. The participants discussed issues such as technical interface matters including security policies. The Technical Team members will continue to collaborate for the benefit of the entire Sentinel Asia community. OPTEMIS will become operational on the Step-3 system soon.