Vietnam could have its first remote sensing satellite in late 2007 or early 2008, if the government approved the space industry development strategy and a project on launching it in the next few months, an official said Tuesday.

Vietnam plans to launch a small remote sensing satellite to provide aerial images mainly used to better manage natural resources and transport systems, prevent natural disasters and forest fires, put forth weather forecasts, and draw maps, local newspaper Youth on Tuesday quoted Tran Cong Due, deputy director of the Science and Technology Department under the Ministry of Science and Technology, as saying.

The production and launch of a small satellite weighing 10-100 kg costs some 6 million US dollars, while those of a bigger satellite weighing 100-500 kg up to 20-40 million dollars, Due stated, noting that some foreign companies want to cooperate with Vietnam on the issue.

A small remote sensing satellite will be put on a pole-to-pole orbit at a distance of 300-1,500 km from the Earth, he said.

Now, Vietnam has to annually spend millions of US dollars buying aerial images from foreign countries, he said.

Recently, the Vietnamese government decided to invest 2,885 billion Vietnamese dong (nearly 182.6 million dollars) in manufacturing and launching a medium-sized communication satellite, which will span its coverage over Vietnam, other Southeast Asian countries, Japan, the Korean peninsula, part of China, eastern Oceanean and the South China Sea.

Vietnam plans to put its first communication satellite named Vinasat into operation in the second quarter of 2008. It will open a tender for Vinasat production and relevant activities with bidders coming from the United States, France, Japan and Russia in the coming time.

Source: Xinhua