[SatNews] Venezuela has just signed an agreement with China Great Wall Industry Corporation ICGWIC) to build and deliver into orbit the country's third satellite, all with the help of Chinese technology.
Artistic rendition of Venezuela's
Francisco de Miranda satellite.
The satellite will be named after the independence hero Antonio Jose de Sucre, although neither the Venezuelans nor the Chinese offered any details of regarding the satellite's cost or specific timeframe for the project. The agreement, which was inked at the presence of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, was signed between the Venezuelan government and CGWIC, China's sole commercial satellite launch service provider.In addition, China will expand satellite technology transfer to Venezuela, Chinese President Xi Jinping said during his visit to Venezuela in July this year.
Venezuela's first satellite, a telecom satellite, was launched from China in 2008 and named after independence leader Simon Bolivar. Venezuela's second satellite, a remote sensing satellite, was also delivered into space from China in 2012 and named after the independence hero Francisco de Miranda. The second satellite is mainly used for the country's land resource inspections, environmental protection, disaster detection and management, crop yield estimation and city planning.
Source: Xinhua news service
