Made-in-Vietnam micro satellite, Pico Dragon, is expected to be
shipped to the International Space Station (ISS) on August 4 to prepare
for a mission in space.

The devise is programmed to
capture images of the earth, collect space environment data and test
communication systems, according to the Vietnam Academy of Science and
Technology.

The 10x10x11.35 centimeter cube
weighting nearly one kilogram is the first of its kind developed by
young Vietnamese engineers and researchers of the National Satellite
Centre, an affiliate of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology.

The micro satellite, together with three other micro
satellites of the US, will be carried by Japan’s Kounotori 4 (HTV)
cargo spacecraft.

It is planned to stay at the ISS for two to three months before going into space.

In May this year, Vietnam’s first remote sensing satellite,
VNREDSat-1, was launched into orbit from the Kourou launch pad, Guiana,
France.

VNREDSat-1 is capable of
capturing images of all areas in the world and it is expected to assist
efforts to deal with flooding, forest fire, oil overflow and other
incidents.

Professor Chau Van Minh,
Chairman of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, described the
launching as an important scientific and technological event that opens
up a new development in Vietnam’s space technology following the
success of two telecommunications satellites – Vinasat 1 in 2008 and
Vinasat 2 in 2012.

The satellite was designed and built by Astrium SAS, an affiliate of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS).-VNA