China to launch satellite for Venezuela

The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) has signed an agreement with Venezuela for in-orbit delivery of a second remote sensing satellite for the country, the company said on Tuesday.

CASC subsidiary Great Wall Industry Corporation will be the major contractor of the project, the corporation said.

But the corporation did not give a specific timeframe for the project.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is on a four-nation Latin America tour, told his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro Sunday in Caracas that China is ready to expand satellite technology transfer to Venezuela.

China sent a remote sensing satellite, the "VRSS-1," into space from northwest China's Gobi desert for Venezuela in 2012.

VRSS-1 is Venezuela's first remote sensing satellite and is mainly used for the country's land resource inspections, environmental protection, disaster detection and management, crop yield estimation and city planning.