February 19, 2006
Venezuelan satellite "Simón Bolívar"

(Aporrea) - "President Chávez bid farewell and wished good luck to 30 young scientists who will travel to China to complete their studies and launch a Venezuelan satellite in 2008.

The young scientists informed that by the end of this month, 30 of the 90 technicians, engineers and specialists who participated in this project, will travel to reinforce their knowledge, launch a satellite and then operate it from Venezuela.

The space platform will be located in the Venezuelan state of Bolívar, while at the same time the satellite station will improve the country's communications, as well as radio and TV transmissions with educational purposes.

This satellite will also be used for telemedicine, education and integration of phone networks.

It is a state of the art satellite, it weights 6 tons and its building was agreed with the company Chinese Wall in 2004.

The Venezuelan government plans to build another satellite for territorial analysis and observation.

This space vehicle will be included in the national scientific-technological plan for which the social programme 'Mision Ciencia' (Mission Science) was created".