Vietnam’s first remote sensing satellite, VNREDSat-1, was launched
into orbit at 9:06 am ( Vietnam time) on May 7 from the Kourou launch
pad, Guiana, France.
The satellite was
originally scheduled to be launched on May 4 but the plan was delayed
due to strong wind and other unfriendly weather patterns at the Guiana
Space Centre.
The launch was transmitted live from
Kourou to a ceremony to mark the special event at the Vietnam Academy of
Science and Technology in Hanoi .
Prof. Chau Van
Minh, the academy’s Chairman, 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.
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 quickly and
effectively.
The VNREDSat-1 project
has a total investment of 55.8 million EUR sourced by the French
government’s Official Development Assistance and the Vietnamese side’s
contribution of nearly 65 billion VND (around 3.2 million USD).
The satellite was designed and built by Astrium SAS, an affiliate of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS).-vna