Belgium to help Vietnam launch remote sensing satellite

Belgian firms, under the guidance of software engineering company Spacebel, based in Liège, will manufacture Vietnam’s VNREDSat-1B satellite, Vietnam Net reports. The announcement was made at the Belgian Embassy in Hanoi last week. This will be the second earth observation satellite to help monitor environmental resources and natural disasters, improve management of the territory and key resources such as agriculture, marine and forest. The satellite is derived from the satellite group Proba (Project for On-Board Autonomy) of the European Space Agency and will be launched into space in 2017. “Belgium is proud of the achievements of space technology that it has achieved and contributed positively to the European space programme. Belgium is also delighted to contribute to the space programme in Vietnam,” the announcement said. Last week, VNREDSat-1, Vietnam’s first remote sensing satellite, was launched into space with two others, including the Belgian satellite Proba-V from the Kourou launch site in French Guiana. The Belgian Embassy in Hanoi said the launch of the Vietnamese and Belgian satellite symbolised Vietnam’s desire for space technology and European technological capabilities, in particular those of Belgium.