CRISP extends orbit of influence
CRESDA Deputy Director Prof Wang Bingbing and NUS Deputy President (Research and Technology) Prof Barry Halliwell signed an agreement that allows NUS to downlink data from CBERS-4
The Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing (CRISP) at NUS will be the only ASEAN station to receive data directly from the fourth China-Brazil Earth Resource Satellite (CBERS-4) under the ASEAN-China Remote Sensing Data Sharing and Service Platform.
The agreement signed by CRISP and the China Centre for Resources Satellite Data and Application (CRESDA) on 12 February will last for five years, with the likelihood of it being extended further upon mutual agreement, disclosed CRISP Director Mr Kwoh Leong Keong. The deal was inked at the sidelines of the Global Space and Technology Convention 2015 in Singapore, where the island nation’s Second Minister for Trade and Industry Mr S Iswaran was the Guest-of-Honour.
“This is well-aligned with OSTIn’s (Office for Space Technology and Industry’s) vision for Singapore to become a satellite data hub and to enable the proliferation of satellite applications. This agreement marks a promising start for more partnerships between Singapore and other international players in this field. We will continue to build on these connections to support the growth of the satellite industry,” said Mr Iswaran.
CBERS-4 will transmit data on forest fires and environmental monitoring that will be downlinked to NUS, and such useful intelligence will be shared with other members of ASEAN at no cost. The data received will be copied back to China and redistributed from there to other countries under their respective bilateral agreements, explained Mr Kwoh.
Singapore public research institutions can access the data to advance research in satellite imagery and applications. Information from the satellite could also be used to support local government agencies such as the National Environment Agency for forest fire monitoring, and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore for oil pollution detection, said Mr Kwoh.
“Singapore was chosen probably because of its sound international reputation for advanced facilities, reliability and active research group,” he added.
This link-up is the latest in NUS’ space strategy—the University hosted its inaugural Space Symposium last year and is slated to launch two R&D satellites later this year.
