Ukraine, Japan to discuss Earth observation satellite project in Kyiv next week

Ukraine and Japan will discuss in Kyiv next week the current state and the further plans of cooperation in a joint project to develop and launch Ukraine's Earth observation nano-satellite.

The parties will discuss cooperation issues during the talks with Japan's NPO InterCoS, which are scheduled for June 18 in Kyiv, Interfax-Ukraine learned at the State Space Agency of Ukraine.

The meeting will also address the issue of streamlining cooperation in the use of space monitoring systems, in particular, the Japanese Earth observation microsatellites under an agreement signed on April 2012 between the governments of Ukraine and Japan on cooperation in improving disaster response to emergency situations at nuclear power plants, the Ukrainian space agency reported.

According to a memorandum signed during the Aviasvit XXI air show in October 2010, the two countries were to implement a program on the joint development of the nano-satellite within two or three years.

The Kyiv Polytechnic Institute National Technical University of Ukraine, Dnipropetrovsk-based Pivdenne Design Bureau and Dnipropetrovsk State University were to take part in the project.

However, in fall of 2011 Ukraine and Japan altered these plans due to internal problems in Japan resulting from the natural disasters that hit the country in March 2011.

The signing of a cooperation agreement between the space agencies of the two countries, which was previously scheduled for the fall of 2011, was postponed until 2012 at the request of Japan.