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.
__
The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
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)
TORONTO (AP) — Anthony Seigler scored from third base on a sacrifice fly Monday night — without ever tagging up on an inning-ending play.
Needless to say, that left everyone in Toronto a little confused.
Seigler scored Boston's only run in a 2-1 loss to the Blue Jays on a chaotic double play that resulted in a 17-minute delay as umpires sorted out the whole thing.
“We kind of got a break there,” Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said.
While there was only one out when Ceddanne Rafaela hit a flyball to center field in the seventh, the scoreboard showed two outs. The ball was still in the air when Seigler headed toward the plate and Nick Sogard took off from first base.
When the ball was caught and the Blue Jays eventually tossed it to first to double up Sogard, that was the third out and it appeared Toronto still led 2-0 as players headed to the dugout.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said everyone assumed the inning was over when plate umpire Charlie Ramos “waved off the run,” and said that during all the confusion he was never given the opportunity to appeal Seigler not tagging up from third.
Umpires then started discussing the bizarre play. There were separate conversations with both managers before conferring with MLB's replay center for a rules check on what crew chief Chris Guccione said was a timing play and not a force play.
In the end, because Seigler crossed home plate before Sogard was called out at first, and Toronto never appealed the runner leaving third base early, the run was awarded to the Red Sox.
“We felt like it was our obligation to correct the error for not scoring the run originally,” Guccione said.
“The rule is the rule. ... So if the run scores from third, no matter what he did tagging up, or not, before the out is recorded at first, the run counts,” Schneider said. “Now, if we had just thrown the ball to third instead of first, obviously different story.”
Guccione told a pool reporter after the game that the Blue Jays would have had to appeal at third base before leaving the field to prevent that run.
“After consulting with MLB, they told me that all of my players were across the third base line before Charlie waved off the run, which I 100% disagree with,” Schneider said. “I don’t know if Vlad is that fast after he got the ball at first.”
But even some Blue Jays appeared to think the catch by center fielder Brett Batemen was the third out of the inning. Toronto reliever Simeon Woods Richardson and catcher Brandon Valenzuela both turned their back to the play and were going to the dugout even before second baseman Josh Smith got the ball from Bateman and threw to first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
“It was a weird, very weird situation, where the players on both sides seemed to be confused on the outs,” Tracy said.
“Going forward, when that play happens again in the next 100 years, if it’s us, we will record the lead out at third,” Schneider said. “That’s the best I got.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Umpire Chris Guccione, center, announces a rules check during an umpire review during the seventh inning of a baseball game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Boston Red Sox in Toronto, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026. (Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Blue Jays' Charles McAdoo (26) reacts as he is doused with a sports drink after the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Boston Red Sox in a baseball game in Toronto, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026. (Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) celebrates after the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Boston Red Sox in a baseball game in Toronto, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026. (Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press via AP)
Boston Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela, right, flies into a sacrifice double play that was reviewed with a time play allowing Anthony Seigler (not shown) to score against the Toronto Blue Jays during the seventh inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026. (Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press via AP)
