HANOI, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The launching of Vietnam's first spacecraft is a significant leap in Vietnam's aerospace industry, said a Vietnamese expert.

The first Vietnamese spacecraft made by a group of Vietnamese engineers was successfully launched into space from the town of Alice Springs in Australia earlier on Monday, Vietnam's state-run news agency VNA reported on Wednesday.

According to head of the manufacturing team Pham Gia Vinh, Vietnam's first spacecraft has successfully approached near-space at an altitude of 25 km. The device also acts as a simulated telecommunications satellite.

"This is the first time Vietnam has had a device that can operate at the altitude of 25 km. The successful launch of the spacecraft is conducive to Vietnam's study in aerospace industry," Dr. Vu Quoc Huy from Hanoi University of Science and Technology was quoted by Vietnam's state-run news agency on Wednesday as saying.

After more than two years of research and design with repeated tests, the launch has opened up positive prospects in the application of flying equipment to study the upper atmosphere, the environment, natural resources, telecommunications and national defense, said a report by Nhan Dan (the People) online newspaper on Wednesday.

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