Airbus, French National Space Research Center promoted cooperation with Vietnam
On May 26, Airbus Defence and Space, the French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) and the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) signed a Declaration of Intent to promote long-term cooperation in the field of Earth observation satellites, building on the success of the VNREDSat-1 satellite program.
President Luong Cuong and French President Emmanuel Macron witnessed Airbus, CNES and VAST exchanged cooperation agreements.
The agreement was signed in Hanoi under the witness of French President Emmanuel Macron and State President Luong Cuong during the French President’s State visit to Vietnam. This event reaffirms the three parties’ shared vision in developing and deploying a new generation of Earth observation satellites to support Vietnam in mitigating the impacts of climate change, supporting natural disaster monitoring and natural resource management.
Airbus and VAST will deepen their technical cooperation to ensure the continued performance of VNREDSat-1, and will explore a potential future programme using advanced satellite technologies developed by CNES and Airbus based on the CO3D constellation. The Declaration of Intent will also help to define a comprehensive training and technology transfer solution as part of the project.
“The continued collaboration between Airbus, CNES and VAST is a clear contribution to the long-standing partnership between our two countries to enhance space sovereignty and deliver value to society,” said Stéphane Vesval, Senior Vice President, Space Systems Business Unit, Airbus Defence and Space. “We are proud to continue supporting Vietnam in its vision of becoming a leading space and space technology player in Southeast Asia, and to accompany Vietnam in promoting the future development of the VNREDSat programme.”
Within the framework of this extensive cooperation programme, CNES and VAST intend to expand scientific and technical exchanges in areas, such as Earth observation data, while also exploring the development of targeted applications based on shared datasets and supporting capacity building programmes.
The agreement reinforces the spirit of cooperation between the two countries, which was demonstrated by the successful launch of the VNREDSat-1 Earth observation satellite developed by Airbus in 2013. Operated by VAST, the VNREDSat-1 satellite has exceeded its expected lifespan by more than double, marking an important milestone in Vietnam’s journey to master space technology. The satellite continues to provide valuable Earth observation data for scientific and environmental applications.