After three months of orbiting, VNREDSat-1, Vietnam’s first remote sensing satellite, was handed over by Astrium SAS, an affiliate of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, to the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) on Wednesday.
>> VNREDSat-1 sends its first earth photos>> Vietnam’s first remote sensing satellite launched after delay Speaking at the handover ceremony held by VAST yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan said the event marks a milestone in the development of the country’s space technology. The Deputy PM congratulated VAST and their French collaborators on the successful launch of the satellite on May 7 from the Kourou launch pad in Guiana, France, saying that the launch has helped mark Vietnam’s boundary in space. Thanks to this remote sensing satellite, Vietnam has fully mastered small satellite technology, thereby independently processing images of all regions belonging to the country’s territory, he said. Designed by Astrium SAS, the satellite measures 600 mm x 570 mm x 500 mm and weighs 115 kg. It was built at a total cost of €55.8 million from the French Government’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) fund and VND65 billion (around $3.2 million) from the Vietnamese Government. To operate the VNRED Sat-1, Vietnam has built three ground stations and sent 15 engineers to Toulouse, France, to be trained in operating related systems, said Dr. Bui Trong Tuyen, deputy director of the Institute of Space Technology and head of the Small Satellite Project Management Unit. As of September 1, after more than three months of operation, VNREDSat-1 had captured and processed 9,271 images at a height of 6,680 km from the Earth, of which 999 featured Vietnamese territory, Tuyen said. In 2008 and 2012, Vietnam launched two telecommunication satellites, Vinasat 1 and Vinasat 2, both of which are operating on a geostationary orbit at an altitude of about 35,800 km. With VNRED Sat-1, Vietnam has become the fifth ASEAN nation to own a remote sensing satellite after Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.