Work starts on Hanoi space center
Work starts on Hanoi space center
A space center project will today begin construction at Hanoi’s Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park and is set for completion by 2020, according to the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
The modern space center will be developed in the hi-tech park on nearly nine hectares and is the leading innovation of its kind in Southeast Asia.
The construction will be funded with 54 billion yen in ODA loans from the Japanese Government and counter capital from the Vietnamese Government.
This is a vital project for the nation as part of a strategy to study and apply space technology by 2020. It will be carried out and managed by Vietnam National Satellite Center under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology.
The center, when in place, will be involved in mastering technology, manufacturing small satellites, building up and handling satellite data for forecast of natural disasters, agricultural output production and seafood volumes. It will also provide updates about electronic map systems for land zone planning and climate change monitoring.
The project consists of three components - infrastructure and equipment, technology transfer, and personnel training. With infrastructure and equipment, it will develop a center to assemble, integrate and test-run small satellites and other related facilities.
With the technology it receives and transfers, the center will manufacture two small satellites to watch the earth with modern radars of high-resolution besides applying satellite photo data. Around 350 scientists, experts and managers specialized in the space technology sector will be trained within the scheme.
The Saigon Times
