Lao satellite set to go into orbit this year
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Vientiane (Vientiane Times) -- Work is on track to launch a Lao satellite into orbit by the end of this year, to mark the 40th anniversary of the Lao People's Democratic Republic on December 2.
Construction of the ground-based management system for the state-invested project is 65 percent complete. The space management system is 20 percent complete, according to a report from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.
China Asia-Pacific Mobile Telecommunications Satellite Co Ltd was contracted to develop the management systems.
Some 50 Lao officials have been sent for training in China in preparation for the satellite's operation and management, according to a report presented at the ministry's ongoing annual meeting in Vientiane.
A groundbreaking ceremony to begin construction of the satellite station in Hadxaifong district, Vientiane, took place in April last year.
The first Lao satellite project (Lao Sat-1) is being funded by a loan of more than US$285 million from China, according to a senior ministry official in charge of the project, Dr Phouluang Kanorlath.
