Millions of Vietnamese people have benefited from the first satellite project. Thanks to VINASAT 1, telephone signals have reached out to the country’s far-flung, border and island regions, helping bridge the communication gaps between regions and improve the quality of audio-visual and telecom services.

The project was invested by the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), and Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems of the US was selected to supply the satellite. Both are investor and contractor of the second satellite project due to be launched on May 16, 2012.

  Effective use

Since taking over VINASAT 1 from US contractor Lockheed Martin, the Vietnam Telecom International (VTI) under VNPT has successfully operated and exploited satellite services, meeting local and foreign client demands.

Over the past three years, the satellite has been up and running without incident, enabling it to compete with others in the region in providing audio-visual and telecom services.

According to VTI, 90 percent of the satellite capacity has been hired, and the remainder is used to develop VNPT’s telecom network, provide irregular visual broadcasting services and meet client demand for bandwidth expansion.

VINASAT 1 covers Southeast Asia and even reaches out to India, Japan and the Republic of Korea. Despite being a late developer and facing fierce competition from other satellite service providers, VTI has secured major contracts with local and foreign clients such as Vietnam Television (VTV), Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV), Vietnam Multimedia Corporation (VTC), oil & gas companies, and telecom companies of Laos, Thailand and Singapore.

Thanks to VINASAT 1, VNPT has gradually completed the national telecom network by increasing the capacity to transmit signals and provide services to far-flung, border and island areas where terrestrial transmission capacity is limited.  

Technology mastering

VTI has not actually managed Vietnam’s first satellite until 2008 when VINASAT 1 went into orbit, though it has experienced in the field for nearly 20 years. This is also the first time its engineers have controlled and operated such a satellite owned by Vietnam.

To operate the satellite, Vietnam has built a control station in Que Duong commune on the outskirts of Hanoi, where 30 young Vietnamese engineers take turns on duty around the clock to ensure VINASAT 1 orbits on the right track.

Kieu Nguyen, deputy director of the VINASAT Information Centre, says experts from Lockheed Martin supported Vietnamese engineers in overseeing and controlling the satellite at Que Duong Station in the first year of operation.

After foreign experts returned to the US, Vietnamese engineers have managed to monitor, control and use the satellite without any incidents affecting satellite operations, as well as the quality and provision of services.

To develop human resources, VTI has recruited and trained new employees to international standards to run future satellites.

Bui Thanh Tung, a young engineer, says that controlling a satellite is rather complex, requiring precision, thorough consideration and a large amount of knowledge. Under the guidance of senior experts, Tung confides that he has honed the new skills quickly and is now confident of operating the satellite.

According to Hoang Phuc Thang, head of the Que Duong station, despite short training courses, young engineers have mastered new technologies responsibly so that they can manage the operation themselves.

Vietnam is scheduled to launch its second satellite, VINASAT 2, into orbit on May 16, 2012. To operate the satellite, VNPT has sent technicians to the US to oversee the manufacturing of VINASAT 2 under a contract with Lockheed Martin. It is building a concrete foundation for the antenna system in Que Duong to receive and transmit signals from VINASAT 2.

Kieu Nguyen says the Que Duong station is able to incorporate a variety of equipment to control not only VINASAT 1 and 2, but others in the future. In addition, as VINASAT 2 is designed similarly to the previous one, it will be not too difficult for Vietnamese engineers to manage and run the facility.

Drawing on the experience from operating VINASAT 1 and careful human and equipment preparation, Vietnamese engineers are confident of managing VINASAT 2 services.