Last October, a new Chinese-built US$241 million communications satellite called Simon Bolivar or Venesat-1 was launched from China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern China on a CZ-3B rocket.
It is owned by Venezuela. Uruguay also obtained a 10% stake in this satellite because Venesat-1 now occupies an orbital slot, essentially a parking space for a satellite approximately around 35,900 kilometers above Earth.
President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela described this satellite launch as an "act of liberation."
"Venezuela and other Latin countries spend millions of dollars in satellite services, almost all of them monopolized by big international companies," said Chavez.
"It is the domination of space, this is an act ... of independence … Now we have a socialist satellite to construct socialism in Venezuela and cooperate with others, which is why the satellite Simon Bolivar was created. Congratulations."
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