The information was revealed by Director of the Vietnam National SatelliteCentre (VNSC) Pham Anh Tuan at a conference on the centre in Hanoi on January18.
Covering 343 sq.m in a rocky area called HonChong in Nha Trang city, the observatory is equipped with a space telescope of0.5m in diameter inside a dome that is 9m in diameter. The dome can accommodateup to 60 people who can observe space or watch movies about planets, stars andthe history of Earth.
The 5.3-million-USD station will serve basicstudies on optical astrophysics, disseminate knowledge of the universe in thecommunity, and support human resource training in astrophysics.
It will also promote cooperation with researchers at home and abroad in thefield.
The VNSC is hoped to become a leading modern scientific and technologicalcentre in Southeast Asia, meeting the demand of research and application ofspace technology in Vietnam to tackle natural disasters and climate change.
As part of efforts to improve the quality of itshuman resources to serve its development, in 2017, the centre will pay special attentionto training work, towards training about 250 skilled staff by 2020.-VNA