Vietnam, which has launched three satellites since 2008, is now gearing up for another three launches over the next five years, local media reported on Tuesday.
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The new satellites will be meant for remote sensing -- collecting and transmitting data about the Earth's surface, helping scientists forecast climate change and natural disasters, news website Saigon Times Online reported.
Vietnam's two communications satellites VINASAT-1 and VINASAT-2 were launched in 2008 and 2012, while its first remote sensing satellite VNREDSat-1 was launched in 2013.
So far, VNPT-I, a subsidiary of the state-run Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group and which is tasked with operating the communications satellites, has used 95 percent of VINASAT-1's capacity, and over 60 percent of VINASAT-2, according to the company's website.
Most of companies which are using the Vietnamese satellites' services are local, and VNPT-I is seeking partners in other countries such as Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Singapore, it said.
Vietnam was estimated to have invested at least US$500 million in the communications satellites.
(Source: TNNews)
