Preamble: Nontraditional space initiatives have been emerging in recent years from the private sector, with seemingly exotic objectives such as space tourism and asteroid mining. They are indicative of a new level of maturity and innovation in space technology and understanding. These developments have set the stage for the seventh RAST Conference (RAST2015), for which the theme was decided as “EMERGING PRIVATE SPACE”. RAST2015 will be held on 16-19 June 2015 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: Commercial space has been around for several decades, in space communications, Earth observation and launch services. However, other commercial space initiatives have been emerging recently, with completely different and “out of this World” goals. Space tourism, asteroid mining and certain curiosity driven objectives are prime areas of those initiatives. In addition to technological feasibility, there are a number of other issues which require careful analysis. While entrepreneurs may be mostly concerned with financial, operational and market viability, governments and international institutions must be prepared to deal with legal and regulatory matters. Then there are the physiological and psychological issues regarding humans in space. International space law will need new interpretations and extensions to cover probable disputes which are already being pronounced, such as unrestricted access to space resources.

RAST2015 has the main objective of providing a forum for the presentation and review of recent developments in private and nontraditional space initiatives, that is, developing and using space technologies for objectives which have hitherto been considered exotic or unconventional, including new ways of accessing space with humans or robots. It has always been the wish and the goal of the organizers to make RAST 2015 a premier event in space technology developments especially those on the way to near future deployment and of interest to a large part of the space community.

Brisbane is one step closer to becoming the global capital of the world’s $250 billion spatial industry today with the launch of a global summit tackling global issues with big data and spatial technologies. The city will host the inaugural PIVOTAL 2015 International Executive Summit 28 June – 1 July, a spatial industry think-tank which will connect some of the world’s brightest spatial experts and top political minds.

Led by the Spatial Industries Business Association (SIBA), PIVOTAL will show government and business leaders how to harness location data to tackle everything from land-use patterns and emergency support to governance models and open data frameworks.

The summer of 2015 marks the twenty-year anniversary of the International Early-Career Scholars Institutes in GIScience. The organizers and participants in those previous Institutes in co-sponsorship with the Vespucci Initiative invite a new generation of early-career GIScience scholars to with join us to explore Advancing Geographic Information Science: The Past and Next Twenty Years.

The University of Salzburg hosts again the international GI community from July 7 – 10, 2015: The GI_Forum 2015 provides a platform for dialogue among technologists and critical thinkers, GIScientists and educationalists in an ongoing effort to support the creation of an informed GISociety. Prominent keynote speakers will highlight new developments, offer insights into trends and visions, and at the same time were available for our Young Researchers’ Corner for more individualised interaction with young researchers.

Call for Papers: December 1, 2014 – February 1, 2015

The International Global Navigation Satellite Systems (IGNSS) Society Inc. is pleased to announce the IGNSS 2015 symposium on GPS/GNSS which will be held from Tuesday 14th July to Thursday 16th July, 2015 at the Outrigger Hotel, Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia.

This interactive conference and exhibition will include updates from the major system providers from USA, Russia, China, Japan, Europe and India as well as plenary, concurrent and panel sessions, an interactive trade display and field demonstrations of the latest hardware and software from around the world.

The 13th South East Asian Survey Congress (SEASC 2015) shall be held in Singapore in 2015. The Congress will be hosted at the Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, from 28 to 31 July 2015. Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers (SISV) is the main organiser, under the Asean Flagship, and supported by many local government agencies, stakeholders and suppliers. We are very honoured to have this opportunity to host the event in Singapore and we look forward to welcoming you in July 2015.

Geomatics Indaba 2015 is a fully inclusive geomatics sector conference, exhibition and training event, encompassing all levels of interested and relevant persons, organisations, government departments and agencies, municipalities, public and private companies, NGOs, universities and training organisations – from students to professionals; junior staff to executives, officials and leaders; in both the public and private sectors; from South Africa, Africa and abroad.

The 27th International Cartographic Conference will take place in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil in 2015!
This is a unique opportunity to meet colleagues, present your work,exchange ideas, display your cartographic products, get connected with the global community of cartography and GI science and have a good time in one of the most famous cities of the world. Why is this a great opportunity? Simply because the fields of Cartography and Geoinformation Science are becoming more relevant than ever. Modern Cartography is a key to mankind. Without maps we would be “spatially blind”. Knowledge about spatial relations and location of objects is extremely important for enabling economic development, managing and administering land, handling disasters and crisis situations or simply to show individuals the best way to get to a specific place. Cartography is also the most contemporary. New and innovative technologies have an important impact into what cartographers are doing. Maps can be derived automatically from geodata acquisition methods such as laser scanning, remote sensing or sensor-networks. Smart models of geodata can be built, allowing an in-depth analysis of structures and patterns. A whole range of presentation forms is available nowadays, from maps on mobile phones all the way to geoinformation in the form of Augmented Reality presentations.