Apr 18 2008
From The Space Library
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam launched its first communications satellite aboard an Ariane 5 ECA rocket at 22:17 (UT) from Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems had built the 2,600-kilogram (5,732-pound) VINASAT-1 satellite for Vietnam’s Post and Telecommunications Group. The Vietnamese intended for VINASAT 1 to come to rest at 132°E longitude, above the border between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. From that position, the satellite would deliver communications to remote Vietnamese communities. Previously, Vietnam had leased satellite capacity from other countries, but with the launch of VINASAT 1, some Vietnamese officials hoped that they would be able to sell their own satellite’s extra capacity to their neighbors. The Ariane 5 ECA rocket also carried into orbit the Brazilian satellite Star One C2.
Spacewarn Bulletin, no. 654; BBC News, “Dedicated Satellite for Vietnam,” 19 April 2008.
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