National satellite centre underpins Vietnam’s space industry
The Vietnam National Satellite Centre has recorded significant progress in developing human resources and operating satellite and space infrastructure projects.
A satellite development roadmap designed by the Vietnam National Satellite Centre (Photo: VNSC)
Hanoi (VNA) – The VietnamNational Satellite Centre (VNSC) under the Vietnam Academy of Science andTechnology has recorded significant progress in developing human resources andoperating satellite and space infrastructure projects.
According to VNSC Director Pham AnhTuan, the space industry in Vietnam has high demand for quality workers, buthas faced a shortage in human resources for years due to a restricted number ofeducational facilities.
The VNSC, founded in 2011, has workedto tackle the issue. It has sent engineers to universities in Japan to learnabout satellite technologies, while signing educational pacts on space sciencewith three Vietnamese universities.
As a result, the centre has grownfrom an initial staff of 31 to 132, towards a goal of having 300 competentpersonnel by 2022.
It launched the Vinasat-1 andVinasat-2 satellites into space in 2008 and 2012, and the remote-sensing VNRedsat-1 and micro satellite "PicoDragon" in 2013.
VNSC engineers joined their Japanesepeers in researching and manufacturing the 50kg MicroDragon satellite, which isscheduled to be launched in 2018. The MicroDragon aims to observe coastal areasof Vietnam to evaluate water quality, marine food resources and follow up onchanges in coastal areas to inform the fish breeding sector.
Under the satellite development roadmap,Vietnam will also launch the LOTUSat-1 and LOTUSat-2 satellites, which weredesigned by Japanese experts and will be assembled and piloted by Vietnameseengineers, by 2019 and 2020, respectively. These are expected to provide data,contributing to improving the efficiency of agricultural production andmitigating damage caused by natural disasters.
The VNSC is also working to buildastronomical observatories in Nha Trang, central Khanh Hoa province, and HoaLac, Hanoi.-VNA
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A satellite development roadmap designed by the Vietnam National Satellite Centre (Photo: VNSC) 
