BEPPO SAX FALLING DOWN

UNCLAS ROME 001105 SIPDIS FOR OES/SAT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TSPA IT SUBJECT: BEPPO SAX FALLING DOWN ¶1. FOLLOWING IS THE TEXT OF A NOTE VERBALE RECEIVED MARCH 13 FROM THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS. ¶2. BEGIN TEXT: THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF ITALY PRESENTS ITS COMPLIMENTS TO THE EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES AND HAS THE HONOR TO INFORM ON THE FOLLOWING. ON APRIL 30, 2002, AT THE END OF ITS OPERATIVE LIFE, THE ITALIAN SATELLITE BEPPO-SAX LAUNCHED IN 1996 FOR SCIENTIFIC PURPOSES BY THE ITALIAN SPACE AGENCY (ASI), HAD TO BE SWITCHED OFF. BEPPO-SAX WILL PROGRESSIVELY LOSE ALTITUDE AND DISINTEGRATE IN ITS REENTRY THROUGH LOW LAYERS OF THE ATMOSPHERE, BETWEEN APRIL 25 AND JUNE 13, 2003, WITHIN A STRIP (+/-4 DEGREES) FROM MINUS 4 TO PLUS 4 DEGREES OF LATITUDE ACROSS THE EQUATOR. IN SPITE OF THE DESTRUCTIVE IMPACT AGAINST THE ATMOSPHERE, SOME DEBRIS WILL MOST LIKELY REACH THE EARTH SURFACE. FOR THE EVENT, THE FOLLOWING TEMPORARY MISSION STRUCTURE HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED AT THE PRESIDENZA DEL CONSIGLIO: PRESIDENZA DEL CONSIGLIO DEI MINISTRI DIPARTIMENTO DELLA PROTEZIONE CIVILE VIA ULPIANO, 11 00193 ROMA STRUTTURA TEMPORANEA DI MISSIONE ¶H. 8.00-20.00: TEL. 0039 06 6804333251 - 0039 06 68043257 - 0039 06 68043253 TEL: SALA OPERATIVA H.24: 0039 06 68202314 - 0039 06 68897689 FAX 0039 06 68897758 E-MAIL: BEPPOSAX@PROTEZIONECIVILE.IT SINCE LAST DECEMBER NATIONS LISTED BELOW HAVE BEEN WARNED BY COMPETENT ITALIAN EMBASSIES. BEING POTENTIALLY AFFECTED BY THE REENTRY CONSEQUENCES, THEY HAVE BEEN INVITED TO DESIGNATE A NATIONAL "FOCAL POINT" FOR ACTIVATING AN ADEQUATE INFORMATION FLOW ON THE SATELLITE'S DECAY AND COORDINATING POTENTIAL CIVIL PROTECTION ACTIVITIES. - AFRICA: BURUNDI, CAMEROON, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, CONGO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, EQUATORIAL GUINEA, ETHIOPIA, GABON, KENYA, RWANDA, SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE, SEYCHELLES, SOMALIA, SUDAN, TANZANIA, UGANDA. CAP PALMAS, AT THE BORDER BETWEEN LIBERIA AND COTE D'IVOIRE, AND THE NIGER RIVER DELTA, IN NIGERIA, ARE ALSO SKIMMED BY THE LIMITING NORTHERN LATITUDE; - ASIA: BRUNEI, INDONESIA, MALAYSIA, MALDIVES, SINGAPORE; - OCEANIA: BAKER ISLAND (USA),FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA, HOWLAND ISLAND (USA),JARVIS ISLAND (USA), KIRIBATI, MARSHALL ISLANDS, NAURU, PALAU, PAPUA NEW GUINEA; - SOUTH AMERICA: BRAZIL, COLOMBIA, ECUADOR, FRENCH GUIANA, GUYANA, PERU, SURINAME, AND VENEZUELA. AT THIS MOMENT, ONLY CAMEROON, EQUATORIAL GUINEA, UGANDA, SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE, INDONESIA, MALAYSIA, SINGAPORE, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, KIRIBATI, BRAZIL, FRENCH GUIANA AND VENEZUELA HAVE NOMINATED THEIR FOCAL POINTS AND COMMUNICATED RELATED TELEPHONE NUMBERS, FAXES AND E- MAIL ADDRESSES, ALLOWING ACTIVATION OF PROPER LINKS WITH THE ITALIAN SPACE AGENCY AND DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL PROTECTION. IN CASE COUNTRIES THAT HAVE NOT PROVIDED THEIR FOCAL POINTS YET DO NOT REPORT REQUESTED DATA IN SHORT TIME TO THE ABOVE MENTIONED ADDRESS, THE TEMPORARY MISSION STRUCTURE WILL ACTIVATE THE UNITED NATION OFFICES OPERATING ON THOSE NATIONS TERRITORIES, AS IT HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE FOR SOMALIA. THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF ITALY, LOOKING FORWARD A POSSIBLY QUICK ANSWER, AVAILS ITSELF OF THIS OPPORTUNITY TO RENEW TO THE EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES THE ASSURANCES OF ITS HIGHEST CONSIDERATION. END TEXT. SEMBLER NNNN 2003ROME01105 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED