Japan to Launch Vietnam-Developed Satellite into Orbit in Sep

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is expected to put the Vietnam-made NanoDragon satellite into orbit in September, said Dr. Le Xuan Huy, vice director of the Vietnam National Space Center. NanoDragon, weighing four kilograms, is a microsatellite model developed by a team of Vietnamese engineers under the project “Researching, designing, manufacturing, launching and operating nanoscale satellites” of the National Program of Science and Technology on Space Technology in 2016-2020. The satellite has been completed and is about to be sent to the Japan-based Kyushu Institute of Technology for environmental testing. Afterward, it will be taken back to Vietnam to await being launched by Japan’s Epsilon rocket. Once orbiting, the satellite monitors technology controlling the direction of the satellite in orbit and serves the navigation of watercraft. (Tien Phong, Nhan Dan, Tien Phong)