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Venezuelan first satellite launched from China (Updated III)
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by rahul | October 29, 2008 at 08:54 am
455 views | 26 Recommendations | 7 comments
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Venezuelan first satellite launched with chinese help, launch station venezuela
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UPDATES: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez stated that the US administration had tried to stop the launching of the Simon Bolivar satellite on several occasions. Just earlier today, the Chinese government received an US request asking for a delay in the launching. It suggested the satellite would create some disturbances and needed some revision. The Chinese government played down such request.
Caracas, Venezuela, 29 October 2008. After a much waited occasion, Venezuelans gathered to watch live on TV the launching of their first ever satellite from Xichang in the Sichuan Province of China. Baptised after their father of the nation, Simon Bolivar, the Venesat 1 satellite is meant to boost telephone communication, TV transmission and Internet access to remote areas. The government plans to use such facilities to improve its education and health programmes too. President Chavez and his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales, watched the lauching on TV from Puerto Ordaz, Eastern Venezuela. Evo Morales was on his way to attend the Ibero American Summit at El Salvador.
Venezuela had received offers from France and Russia to build the satellite but the Chinese showed a less costly opition.Thus, a far reaching contract was signed in 2004. Uruguay donated an orbit in exchange of a 10 percent of the Venezuelan satellite's beaming capacity. Brazil, Argentina and Mexico are the only regional countries with their own satellite.
The opposition has criticised the satellite as it is a joint venture with China with high costs to the country. But the $406m (£252m) agreement with China has provided Venezuela not only with the satellite itself but also with proper training and technological know-how to its own technicians. Posing as a telecommunications expert from Simon Bolivar University, the opposition professor at Universidad Central of Venezuela, Daniel Varnazy, said the satellite could serve both military and civilian purposes. However, Venezuela has struggled to regain its own control over communications after US boycotted its oil industry during the attempted coup in 2002 and a general strike in 2003. Vital communications of the Venezuelan oil industry managed by PDVSA was controlled by satellite from a US owned company. Venezuela will launch another satellite in 2013.
XICHANG, Sichuan Province -- China successfully sent a Venezuelan telecommunication satellite into space on the early morning of Thursday. It is China's first contract of manufacture and launching service for a Latin American country. Carried by a Long March 3II rocket, the satellite was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center located in southwest China's Sichuan Province. The satellite was produced by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation with an all-up weight of 5,100 kg and an designed longevity of 15 years. The orbiter, named as Venezuela 1 Telecom Satellite, is the first telecom satellite of Venezuela which will be used in broadcasting, tele-education and medical service by coving the most regions of South America and the Caribbean region. It will of great importance to improve living standards of the people living in the country's remote areas. It has been also named as "Simon Bolivar Satellite" in the south American country to commemorate the independence leader of the Latin America in 1800s. According to the website of the Great Wall Industry Corporation, China's sole contractor for such space business, the country began its commercial space launch business on August 5, 1987, when a Long March 2C rocket carrier launched a micro-gravity test instrument for the French company Martra Maconi. In 1990, a Long March 3 sent the AsiaSat-1 Communications Satellite for the AsiaSat HK company into space
Sources: VTV, YVKE, Globovision, BBC, Telesur, Unionradio, ABN,
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (7)
at 09:37 on October 29th, 2008
rahul, I like this story. Caracas launching Venesat 1 satellite from Puerto Ordaz, Eastern Venezuela. You should have been at Puerto Ordaz ? How far from Caracas is it ?
at 09:58 on October 29th, 2008
Made in China? Launched on a Chinese launcher. Anybody with $$$ can do this. Training included.
at 10:00 on October 29th, 2008
rahul, interesting piece. That is a lot of money however. I can see why there would be some opposition to it.
at 12:07 on October 29th, 2008
Thanks for the GS Flag. The social and educational benefits and the independence of the Venezuelan oil industry made it worth while....every single penny. The opposition in just doing its stake during the local campaign. Local elections are due in just three weeks.
at 12:14 on October 29th, 2008
rahul, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 22:19 on November 8th, 2008
Well, I'm curious what kind of "disturbances" Washington felt the satellite would cause. Does anyone know? It did get terribly windy here in Southern Oregon on Friday (Halloween) night. There's just no way to hid a satellite launch anywhere on the planet - they really stir up the winds.
at 08:12 on November 12th, 2008
I would rather think the Venesat - 1 is useful for FARC communications. They want a safe way to call Chavez without being found (Like Raul Reyes) or intercepted (like Commander Cesar)