VENESAT 1

Under an agreement signed in November 2005, the China Great Wall Industry Corp was contracted to design, manufacture, test, and put into orbit the VENESAT-1 for Venezuela. The satellite will help Venezuela develop its telecommunications, film and TV industries, culture, and education. The planned telecommunications satellite blasted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Southwest China atop a CZ-3B/G2 rocket. The satellite, designed with a mission life of 15 years, was constructed by the China Academy of Space Technology, based on the country's DFH-4 Bus, China's new-generation telecommunications satellite platform. The satellite is also called the "Simon Bolivar Satellite," named after the Caracas-born South American independence hero, the Liberator of Five Republics, according to Tenorio.