한국항공우주연구원

- Provision of Satellite Footages for Disaster-stricken Areas Worldwide -

On July 7, 2011, the Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (Minister : Lee Ju-ho) and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (President : Kim Seung-jo) announced KARIs full membership acquisition of the International Charter, the international cooperation program for space utilization, through the hosting of the signing ceremony of the International Charter.

The International Charter represents an international cooperation program voluntarily formed by 14 space development institutes across 13 nations equipped with proprietary satellite systems, including the European Space Agency (ESA), Centre National dEtudes Spatiales (CNES), Canadian Space Agency (CSA), and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). In the event of global calamities such as earthquakes, typhoons, heavy snowfall, or fire, it will provide free delivery of satellite images of disaster-stricken areas captured by member states to support the recovery efforts.

In 2010, KARI sent a letter of intent for formal participation to the directorate of the International Charter, and obtained the unanimous approval for its accession to the International Charter. Since then, KARI has actively prepared for its full International Charter membership through the creation of a cooperation network with domestic agencies concerned such as the National Institute for Disaster Prevention, and education programs for the staff in charge of operation.

In addition to the signing event, KARI undertook a final check-up of the operational qualifications for the International Charter through a specific meeting that included an on-site inspection and an operation test by the International Charters technical evaluation team.

KARI has contributed to damage analysis of disaster zones by supplying the International Charter with footages captured by Arirang 2 (Korean multipurpose satellite) from the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Peru flood and the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Consequently, this has laid the foundation for KARI to globally publicize the excellent quality of the satellite footages.

In March 2011, when Koreas eastern coast was hit hard by heavy snowfall, KARI was able to easily perform the analysis of the scope of the damage using satellite data which the International Charter collected from numerous nations worldwide. This showed how KARIs accession to the International Charter can pave the way for the ongoing gathering of overseas satellite data in the case of a massive domestic catastrophe.

Meanwhile, KARI has promoted mutual cooperation with the National Institute for Disaster Prevention under the National Emergency Management Agency through its accession to the International Charter and the corresponding operational requirements. Additionally, both sides will maintain ongoing cooperation regarding the utilization of satellite data in the case of disasters. In close collaboration with KARI, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology also plans to provide the International Charter with marine footages captured by Chollian, the Korean satellite which began to operate in April 2011.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and KARI commented that Korea has showcased its technical know-how for satellite development and utilization worldwide through the participation in international cooperation activities such as the joining the International Charter which has world-class satellite development institutes.