HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnamese aerospace company VinSpace said Tuesday it has signed a contract with SpaceX to send its first satellites into orbit aboard a SpaceX rideshare mission in 2027, as the Southeast Asian nation moves to develop its nascent space industry.
VinSpace will launch its satellites on a SpaceX Transporter rideshare mission run by Elon Musk’s company, which carries satellites from multiple customers on a single rocket to share launch costs, it said in a statement.
The satellites, which VinSpace said it will develop and operate, will test the company’s technology in orbit and support future commercial applications.
VinSpace is part of Vietnam’s Vingroup conglomerate and was established in November 2025. The company said in April that it planned to develop and launch its first satellites in 2027.
Founded by tycoon Pham Nhat Vuong, Vingroup is Vietnam’s largest privately owned company. It has a sprawling business empire that touches many aspects of daily life, from real estate and retail to healthcare, education and tourism.
It is going global as it invests heavily in high-tech industries such as electric vehicles, space, artificial intelligence and robotics, sectors central to Vietnam’s ambition to become Asia’s next tiger economy.
Vietnam has sought to build its aerospace capabilities for several decades but remains a relatively small player in the global space industry. It launched its first telecommunications satellite in 2008, followed by another in 2012, according to official documents.
In March, it inaugurated a major space science and technology center in Hanoi’s Hoa Lac High-Tech Park, aimed at expanding the country’s satellite development and use of space-based data. Vietnam aims to become a mid-level space power in Southeast Asia by 2030.
In February, Vietnam allowed SpaceX to launch its Starlink satellite internet service in the country. This was seen by some analysts as an effort by Vietnam to avoid U.S. tariffs. Starlink has since begun accepting orders in Vietnam.
VinSpace said the agreement with SpaceX is part of its plan to become a full-service aerospace company, developing capabilities ranging from satellite design and manufacturing to launch management, satellite operations and space-based data services.
“Reliable access to space is fundamental to turning satellite innovation into operational missions,” VinSpace CEO Thu Vu said in a statement.
VinSpace did not disclose the value of the contract or the number or specifications of the satellites.
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FILE - The SpaceX logo is displayed on a building, May 26, 2020, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — LeBron James took his seat and fidgeted with a microphone before he tossed his identification placard on the ground.
“You guys know who I am, right?” James asked.
Sure do. No introduction needed.
LeBron James, the most famous basketball player in the world and the NBA's career scoring leader, was indeed in a No. 23 Philadelphia 76ers jersey. He's happy to play for the Sixers, happy to play with close friend and fellow All-Star Tyrese Maxey and happy to start a 24th NBA season — with no promises of how long his career is going to last.
He's sure not in Philadelphia to lose.
“I didn't leave my family,” James said Monday, “to lose in the second round.”
James, Maxey, Joel Embiid and the other new star Sixers player, Jaylen Brown, were all on hand for media day ahead of the start of training camp and what figures to be the most anticipated season in Philly since Julius Erving's heyday.
James is the undisputed star the show.
The usual assortment of beat writers and bloggers were dwarfed inside the Sixers' complex in New Jersey by cameras and questions from media entities far beyond the NBA scope. James, naturally, handled himself like a true professional, used to the global spotlight since he was put on a basketball pedestal as a teenager.
“Understand that the noise is going to be the noise,” James said. “What happens outside of this building is going to consistently happen, and it's going to be doubled and triple and quadrupled down on you. It just comes with the territory. I understand it.”
Much as James did for Cleveland when he ended a 56-year championship drought for the city by leading the Cavaliers to the title in 2016, he's in Philadelphia largely to help snap a championship drought for the Sixers that stretches to 1983.
“I think the luxury of my game is, I can do everything,” James said. “Literally, I can do everything.”
The Sixers went 45-37 last season and were swept in the second round by the eventual champion New York Knicks.
Enter a summer makeover anchored by James' arrival.
The 41-year-old James signed a modest $8 million, two-year contract on the veterans’ minimum with the Sixers.
James’ resume is beyond compare in NBA history. He’s a 22-time All-Star, a 21-time All-NBA selection, a four-time Most Valuable Player, a four-time NBA Finals MVP, a three-time All-Star Game MVP and a member of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team.
He also is coming off a season in which he averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game. For his career, he has averaged 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.4 assists in more than 1,600 games.
“Him being here is really cool,” Maxey said.
With key members of Sixers ownership and the front office watching from the side, James declined to get into the issue of how much longer he wants to play. His lone focus, he said, was learning how to play with new teammates — most, like Embiid, haven't won a title — and trying to bring the championship mentality he knows so well from winning titles with the Cavaliers, Heat and the Lakers to the Sixers.
“I hope that I can, you know, bring that experience, bring that knowledge, bring the blueprint to the guys that's trying to accomplish some things that they haven't done in their career,” James said. “I've seen everything that this league has to offer on the floor and off the floor, so I hope that every single day with my approach to the game, approach to the work, that it can translate to every single guy."
James started his career in Cleveland in 2003 and spent seven seasons with the Cavaliers before heading to Miami for four seasons — where he won his first two NBA titles. He then returned to Cleveland for four more seasons, including that title run in 2016, and left in 2018 for the Lakers. He won a title in LA in 2020.
He also won't set a timetable on how many years he has left in his career.
“I don't want to speak on the future right now,” James said. “I think that would be doing a disservice to myself on just living in the moment, especially knowing that I am where I am in my career.”
See AP’s full NBA coverage here
FILE - Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James reacts during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns, Friday, April 10, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh, File)
