Developed and built by the Vietnam National Space Center (VNSC), the satellite weighs four kilos and belongs to the CubeSat category, a type of miniaturized satellite for space research that is made up of multiple 10 cm × 10 cm × 10 cm modules.

NanoDragon will be sent to the Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan, and between March 8-22, experts there will put it through several tests including vibration, shock and vacuum heat, VNSC director Pham Anh Tuan said Tuesday.

After the test, it will return to Vietnam and wait for the launch that has been scheduled for September in Japan.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is set to launch 15 satellites, including the NanoDragon, into space this year as part of Japan's second experimental satellite program.

The NanoDragon satellite that is almost completed. Photo by VNSC.

Used as an optical imaging device to test satellite positioning in space and to track and monitor ships at sea, NanoDragon will be brought into space by Japanese rocket Epsilon at free cost in line with the "Innovative satellite technology demonstration" program.

The program has small satellites used to perform orbital demonstrations of new key components and technologies in a timely and affordable manner. It is part of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s efforts to assist the development of the innovative fundamental technologies for satellites as stated in the Basic Plan on Space Policy of Japanese government.

The satellite is the product of Vietnam's nano-sized micro-satellite project for the 2016-2020 period.

Japan sent the 5- kilogram Vietnamese satellite MicroDragon into space from Uchinoura Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, southern Japan, in January 2020.

It was used to observe Vietnam’s coast line, evaluate water quality, locate fishery resources and monitor changes to serve aquaculture, detect cloud coverage and aerosols, collect ground-based sensor signals and transmit them to stations on Earth.

Vietnam sent its first indigenous satellite into space in 2013. The one-kilogram PicoDragon remained in orbit for three months. The country had launched four prior satellites, all made by foreign companies.