July 11 – A delegation from the Italian Space Agency, led by president Enrico Saggese and accompanied by representatives of the Ministry of Defence and the Italian industry, Thales Alenia Space-Italy, Telespazio and e-Geos, attended the Italian Festival organized by the Italian Embassy in Bangkok. They took part in a seminar entitled “Italian Space Activities: Cosmo-SkyMed for the user community” held at the Space Krenovation Park Sriracha (Chonburi). The Thai Minister of Science and Technology, Piraphan Palusuk, along with the director of the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency, Anond Snidvongs, welcomed the Italian delegation and Ambassador, Michelangelo Pipan, in the new Thai Satellite Control Centre opened in November 2012. The experience and information on the Cosmo-SkyMed system data was much appreciated by the Thai space community that needs radar data, rather than optical data, since the country is covered 70% of the year by clouds. In particular, Thailand requires models and satellite applications to manage water resources characterized by frequent floods and tsunamis. “We envisage several lines of cooperation between the two countries following the establishment of a framework agreement between ISA and Gisdta signed in October 2012 in Naples – said Gabriella Arrigo, ISA Head of International Relations with non-EU countries – Maybe create an inter-agency working group to exchange and process Cosmo-SkyMed satellite radar and optical data with the Thai satellite Theos.” The Italian industry present at the seminar was very well received and is considered a very important element in Thailand’s upcoming choices in space policy, the environment and sustainable development.
