Vietnam plans to send a nano-satellite weighing 10kg to orbit in 2016, Associate Prof. Dr. Pham Anh Tuan, Director of the Vietnam National Satellite Centre (VNSC) has revealed. 

The NanoDragon satellite will be entirely designed and manufactured by Vietnamese experts, said Tuan. 

Last year, VNSC also successfully launched a micro satellite called Pico Dragon weighing 1kg. 

After infrastructure system of VNSC in Hanoi’s Hoa Lac area is completed, a 50kg satellite called MicroDragon will also be developed and is expected to be launched in 2018, he added. 

According to Tuan, by 2020, Vietnam will be capable of manufacturing and operating LOTUSat 2 – a commercial satellite weighing 500kg. 

Meanwhile, a project to build the Vietnam Aerospace Centre is underway with an investment of 54 billion JPY (505.76 million USD) in ODA from the Japanese Government. 

Once completed by 2017, the centre will become one of the most modern of its kind in Southeast Asia, added Tuan.