SFCG-33 General Information

GENERAL INFORMATIONSFCG-33Toulouse, France25 June – 3 July, 20131. PRACTICAL INFORMATION FOR THE MEETINGOverall ScheduleThe thirty-third annual meeting of the SFCG, SFCG-33, will be held in the Centre Spatial deToulouse (CST), 18 avenue Edouard Belin, 31 401 TOULOUSE CEDEX 9, France, from 25 June to3 July 2013, at the kind invitation of the Centre National d’ Études Spatiales (CNES).The official opening plenary will be held on 25 June. On 26 June, we will split up into SWGs andcome back to the plenary on Tuesday 2 July (or earlier, as a function of the progress of the SWGwork), until Wednesday 3 July (probably until early afternoon); therefore, please do not foresee areturn flight earlier than the evening of Wednesday 3 July.In accordance with previous practice, the following sessions are scheduled for each meeting day:• First morning session 9:00 – 10:30• Coffee Break 10:30 – 11:00• Second Morning Session 11:00 – 12:30• Break before lunch 12:30 – 13:00• Lunch 13:00 – 14:00• First Afternoon Session 14:00 – 15:30• Coffee Break 15:30 – 16:00• Second Afternoon Session 16:00 – 17:30The first Plenary on 25 June will start at 9:30. Registration will start at 8:30 on that day.Please note also the following events:• A welcome cocktail on Tuesday 25 June.• A technical tour of CNES.• A social event to be held in the Cité de l’Espace in Toulouse.

Meeting facilitiesOn their arrival at CST-CNES (see section 2.2 for directions), the Delegates will arrive at the Northgate where they will be given by the CNES security a badge valid for the whole duration of themeeting. The badge will authorize them to access the Léonard de Vinci and Arago buildings wherethe meeting will take place and the cafeteria. For the other days of the meeting the badge will allowaccess from the South gate. As it is foreseen that most of the people will stay in Toulousedowntown, the South gate access is more convenient as it is easily accessible from the undergroundstation.The Plenary sessions will take place in the Léonard de Vinci building. For the other days, the roomVioline in the Arago building will also be available. This will allow two meetings to be held inparallel.Internet access will be available in the meeting rooms through broadband wireless connections. TheSFCG Secretariat will provide the Delegates with individual passwords to access the network duringthe entire duration of the meeting.Secretariat facilities and delegates roomThe secretariat room will be in the Léonard de Vinci building. One secretary from ESA and onefrom CNES will be there to help the SFCG Secretariat.Documentation controlDelegates should keep in mind the provisions of RES A8-3R2 and RES A19-1R5 and supplydiscussion documents within the time limits set by the Resolution, i.e., not later than 3 weeksprior to the start of the meeting for posting on the SFCG web site; this year’s deadline fordiscussion documents will be 3 June 2013. Documents coming after the deadline will be strictlyconsidered as information documents only. The time limit for information documents to bepublished on the web site will be two weeks later, i.e. 17 June 2013.Please inform the secretariat as early as possible (e-mail Bojana.Jokanovic@esa.int with copy toEdoardo.Marelli@esa.int, fax: +31-71-5654598) of any document you plan to submit to SFCG-33,giving the document title, and if possible, a short abstract; the secretariat will subsequently assign adocument number and inform you accordingly. This would greatly facilitate the preparatory workby the secretariat and thereby increase the efficiency of the meeting. The final version of the inputdocuments should be sent to the SFCG Web Coordinator (e-mail: John.E.Zuzek@nasa.gov, copy toEdoardo.Marelli@esa.int and Bojana.Jokanovic@esa.int). Delegates are kindly invited to use theheader and format provided in annex to RES A19-1R5 for their input documents.In order to ease the job of the SFCG Web Coordinator in publishing the documents on our Web site,delegates are warmly invited to send the document at their earliest convenience, possibly avoidingwaiting until the day of the deadline.During the meeting a “scratch” directory will be made accessible to the delegates on the SFCG website. They will be able to access the draft documents generated during the meeting and upload theirown documents. Paper documents exchanges will be kept to the absolute minimum.

Where to eatLunch will be taken in the CST cafeteria at 12:30. SFCG Delegates will have to pay for their ownmeal.For dinner, there is a wide range of restaurants and cafés in the city of Toulouse.2.0 HOTEL AND TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS2.1 Hotel AccommodationCNES facility is on the outskirt of Toulouse, very few hotels are within walking distance (at least 30minutes walking to the meeting rooms). It is suggested that delegates make their own bookingthrough internet booking sites such as:• Booking.com : http://tinyurl.com/bxa6occ• Hotel.com : http://tinyurl.com/bzynrrwIf you look at the map present on these web sites you will see the location of underground stations(marked “M”). It is suggested that you book a hotel close to one of these station (if you aredowntown all stations are within walking distance). This will greatly facilitate travel between yourhotel and the CST.South-West of France is a popular destination for many people in Europe. It is then suggested thatyou book your hotel as soon as possible.2.2 TravelToulouse airport has direct flights to many European cities like Paris, London, Amsterdam, Rome,Lisbon or Frankfurt : http://www.toulouse.aeroport.fr/en. If you come from outside Europe, you willprobably need to travel through one of these cities.Transfer from Toulouse Airport to Toulouse downtown can be done either by taxi or using the“Navette Aéroport”. Taxi fare will be in the order of 30/40 € depending on the time and the numberof luggages, the airport shuttle fare is 5 €.Travel from Toulouse downtown to CST can be done using the Underground line B while stoppingat the final station “Ramonville”. Details on how to get from the station to CNES is provided in theAnnex 1.3 Visa RequirementsSFCG-33 attendees and any accompanying persons may require a visa to enter France depending onthe country of origin. Please inquire with your local French Embassy or Consulate well in advanceof your travel. Be aware that this task can be a very time consuming one.If you need a letter from CNES to obtain the visa, please send an e-mail with the request and all thenecessary details. Please address it to Vincent.meens@cnes.fr with copy to pascale.wuszko@cnes.frand Edoardo.Marelli@esa.int

4. ClimateThe Toulouse weather in June is typically warm and dry.From the official weather web sites the averages are:Average minimum temperature:14.3ºC (57.7ºF)Average maximum temperature:26ºC (78.8ºF)Average monthly precipitation:50 mm rainThe last temperature record was in June 2003 with 44.5°C or 112.1°F.5. Currency ExchangeCurrency in France is the Euro.The hotels accept payments by cash or by any major credit card. ATM machines are availablethroughout the city of Toulouse. Major credit cards are readily accepted in most shops andrestaurants in Toulouse.Annex 1:Getting to CST