With the successful launch of its first satellite named Vinasat-1, Vietnam has already secured "state sovereignty on the space," Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said on Saturday.
"Launching Vinasat-1 satellite is of great political and socioeconomic significance...Vinasat-1 is an important communication bridge linking Vietnam with nations in the region and the world," Dung said on the Central Vietnam Television just after the medium-sized communication satellite was successfully launched by French company ArianeSpace in Kourou site in French Guiana at 5:16 a.m. (Vietnamese time) on Saturday.
"With this event (the successful launch), Vietnam has become the 93rd country in the world, and the 6th country in the region having satellites on orbits," he said.
"Vinasat-1 will help the telecommunication and information technology sector take off, bringing communications and information networks, the Internet, radio and television services to remote and mountainous areas and islands," he said, noting that the Vietnamese government always considers the sector a spearhead one, and prioritizes it for national development.
The prime minister also welcomed Brazil which successfully launched telecommunications satellites Star One C2 on the same rocket Ariane-5 by ArianeSpace.
With the launch of Vinasat-1 weighing 2.6 tons produced by U.S.firm Lockheed Martin to its geostationary orbit position of 132 degrees East using rocket Ariane-5, Vietnam will offer better telecommunications services with lower costs.
With 20 transponders, service coverage in South East Asia, part of China, India, Korea, Japan, Australia and Hawaii, and life-span of between 15 and over 20 years, Vinasat-1 has transmission capacity equivalent to 10,000 voice, Internet and data channels or120 TV channels, helping Vietnam to provide telecommunications, radio, Internet and TV services to all corners of the country regardless of topography and climate.
Total investment for the production and launch of Vinasat-1 and the construction of related facilities like two ground stations in northern Ha Tay province and southern Binh Duong province stands at nearly 300 million U.S. dollars.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article