China, Egypt send jointly made MisrSat-2 satellite into orbit

China launched a satellite jointly developed with Egypt into space on Monday, in the latest sign of growing Chinese-Egyptian cooperation.

The MisrSat-2 was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China onboard the Long March-2C carrier rocket, the Egyptian Space Agency (EgSA) and the China National Space Administration announced in separate statements.

“The launching of MisrSat-2 reflects the successful Egyptian-Chinese cooperation in various fields, namely in the technology and space fields and marks a significant step in localizing advanced industries, such as the satellite industry, in Egypt,” EgSA said in a press release posted on Facebook.

In 2019, Egypt and China signed a $72 million agreement to undertake the MisrSat-2 satellite project. Under the agreement, Chinese and Egyptian scientists and engineers cooperated in the assembly and testing of the satellite at an EgSA testing center also financed by China in Cairo. With this project, Egypt became the first African country to have satellite assembly and testing capabilities.