Posted: Thu, Jun 22, 2006, 7:48 AM ET (1148 GMT)

Arianespace announced this week that it was won a contract to launch the first Vietnamese telecommunications satellite. An Ariane 5 will launch the Vinasat-1 spacecraft in the first half of 2008 under a contract between Ariane and the satellite manufacturer, Lockheed Martin. Vinsat-1, an A2100-series spacecraft weighing 2,600 kg, will carry a suite of C- and Ku-band transponders to provide domestic communications services for Vietnam.