CALL FOR PAPERS
6th International Conference on
Recent Advances in Space Technologies-RAST 2013
” New Ways of Accessing Space for the Benefit of Society”

12-14 June 2013, Istanbul, TURKEY
www.rast.org.tr

Organized by Turkish Air Force Academy, Aeronautics and Space Technologies Institute

Important Dates:
Submission of extended summaries (min.500 words) and special session proposals 21 January 2013
Tentative notification of acceptance 23 February 2013
Submission of full papers 31 March 2013
Notification of full paper acceptance 28 April 2013

Paper submission: Prospective participants are invited to electronically submit an extended summary (minimum 500 words) of their work, following the instructions available on the web page. Final acceptance will be subjected to the quality of full paper. Accepted papers will be published in an IEEE proceedings volume, that will appear on IEEE Xplore, which will be available at the time of the conference. Selected papers from the conference will be considered for possible publications in archival journals.

Preamble: In view of the developments in new launcher initiatives and the recent SpaceX success, the theme for the sixth RAST Conference (RAST2013) was decided as NEW WAYS OF ACCESSING SPACE FOR THE BENEFIT OF SOCIETY. RAST2013 will be held on 12-14 June 2013 again in Istanbul. RAST Conferences are open to all areas of space although each conference tries to focus on its specific theme as well.

Objectives: For a long time since the launch of the first satellite in 1957, access to space was provided by launchers, which were either developed by or contracted by government organizations. Although new launcher technologies were at times under consideration at the bureaucratic government monopoly structure, it has been the American deregulation acts of 1986 and 1990, and the Russian privatization laws in the early 1990’s, that opened the way to private sector to bring its creative forces into the picture. One notable exception is the OTRAG initiative of a private German company in the 1970s, which had to be cancelled for political reasons. Today there are more than a dozen commercial launcher development programs in USA, Russia, Europe and Japan, each emphasizing an innovative approach and providing a host of launch options for satellite owners.

Topics: In general, contributions regarding all aspects of recent developments in space technologies are welcome. In particular presentations addressing the specific theme of RAST2013 are welcome. Papers may fall under, but not be limited to the following topics:

• New and innovative launch systems
• New human habitable space craft, space capsules
• Space tourism; space travel for short and long durations
• Space technologies that contribute to security, including all aspects and threats, natural, man-made, humanitarian efforts, etc.
• Earth observation projects and programs geared especially toward prediction, mitigation and monitoring of natural disasters
• Computational modeling for design, development and control of aerospace vehicles, during launch, space travel and reentry
• Developments in GNSSs, interoperability, new applications
• Small satellites, micro, nano and pico satellites, cubesats
• Satellite time and frequency transfer systems
• New and novel instrumentation for various spacecraft functions, including ADCS, power, vehicle control, space robotics etc.
• Space law, space medicine, and benefits of information available from space (social, educational and others)
• Visions into future of space science, multiverses, black holes, etc.
• Design and construction of space structures, space systems, materials, simulation and testing
• Computational modeling of material processing and other flow physics associated processes under microgravity conditions in space
• New remote sensing technologies and applications, i.e. hyperspectral sensing, SAR, applications in environment, agriculture, etc.
• Regional positioning systems
• New space communication techniques, higher frequencies, new apps
• Communication satellites, flexible payloads, Ka band, EHF band, rain attenuation
• Scientific applications, deep space, near-earth space, space weather, microgravity
• International cooperation, especially among space-faring and developing countries
• Energy from space

Special Sessions: The participants of the conference are encouraged to organize special sessions (5-6 papers) on a particular area within the conference theme. For details, the special sessions chair M. Önder Efe (onderefe@ieee.org) or the secretariat (rast2013@rast.org.tr) is to be contacted.

Exhibition: An exhibition is planned during the conference.

Tutorial: A Tutorial on "Design & Testing of Nanosatellites" will be held at Istanbul Technical University on 11th of June. Please visit web site for more information.


Important Dates:
Submission of extended summaries (min.500 words) and special session proposals 21 January 2013
Tentative notification of acceptance 23 February 2013
Submission of full papers 31 March 2013
Notification of full paper acceptance 28 April 2013
Tutorial 11 June 2013
Conference 12-14 June 2013


Please refer to the official website for further information www.rast.org.tr

Best regards
RAST2013 Secretariat