Chinese commercial space company GalaxySpace on Tuesday completed the development, launch, and on-orbit delivery of a complete satellite for Thailand’s Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA), Global Times reports. It marks the first time that a Chinese commercial space company has done so for a Southeast Asian country, demonstrating that Chinese private firms are now capable of providing overseas customers with integrated solutions covering satellite delivery, operations, and professional training, the Times adds.
The Chinese launched seven satellites successfully on Tuesday, one of them being the Thai satellite. The satellite is designed to collect remote-sensing data for applications in land management, agriculture, and environmental monitoring. It will also support education and training at Thai universities in areas including satellite design and development, telemetry, tracking and control, and remote-sensing applications, GalaxySpace said in a statement on Tuesday. The Chinese company also organized several intensive training programs in China for members of the Thai team and later dispatched specialists to Thailand to provide on-site instruction.
It is also the first time the company exported a complete satellite and ground system to a Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) partner country.
