The second Vega rocket flight has successfully launched the Vietnamese satellite VNREDSat-1, built by Astrium. The small Vega rocket took off from the European Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, at 02:06 GMT on 7 May (03:06 BST, 04:06 CEST 7 May; 23:06 local time 6 May) on a complex mission which launched three satellites (VNREDSat-1, Proba-V and ESTCube-1).
Astrium is prime contractor for VNREDSat-1 (Vietnam Natural Resources, Environment, Disaster Satellite), the first Vietnamese Earth observation satellite.
With VNREDSat-1, Astrium consolidates its position as the world’s leading exporter of Earth observation satellites
The VNREDSat-1 programme is the result of an initiative, under an agreement between the French and Vietnamese governments, to create a space infrastructure enabling the Vietnam to better monitor and study the effects of climate change, predict and take measures to prevent natural disasters, and optimise the management of its natural resources.
Astrium is responsible for the development, construction and launch of the VNREDSat-1 optical satellite, which will be able to take images of the Earth with a resolution of 2.5 metres.
Astrium also designed and built the satellite ground control segment and the image receiving and processing stations in Vietnam, and was responsible for training the 15 Vietnamese engineers who will operate the satellite.
