Viet Nam's first remote sensing satellite, VNREDSat-1, has captured 3,661 images since it was placed under the country's control on September 4 last year. — File Photo

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Viet Nam's first remote sensing satellite, VNREDSat-1, has captured 3,661 images since it was placed under the country's control on September 4 last year.

The satellite was launched into orbit a year ago from the Kourou launch pad in the French territory of Guiana. It was under the management of Astrium SAS, an affiliate of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company.

Since it came into stable operation, it has taken more than 20,700 images, of which 6,071 feature Viet Nam.

At a conference held on May 5 to review the operation of the satellite, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Thai Lai said it served as a monitoring tool helping the country manage environmental resources and defend national sovereignty.

It has also contributed to Viet Nam's sovereignty claims over its land, sea and islands - and also its airspace, he added.

The VNREDSat-1 project was funded with 55.8 million EUR (US$77.4 million) from French Official Development Assistance and a Vietnamese contribution of about VND65 billion ($3 million)).

The satellite, which is capable of capturing images from areas around the world, is also expected to be able to assist efforts to deal with flooding, forest fires, oil overflows and other incidents quickly and effectively. — VNS