In 2004, President Hugo Chávez began talks with the People’s Republic of China for the construction of the satellite and training of Venezuelan technicians. In 2006, an agreement was signed with Uruguay to use the 78 ° west orbit to locate the Simón Bolívar satellite.
On November 6, 2009, the People’s Republic of China made official the total delivery of Simón Bolívar Satellite control, so Venezuela had total management and administration over the satellite until the end of its useful life.
On October 29, 2008, the VENESAT-1 “Simón Bolívar” satellite, the first telecommunications satellite under Venezuelan government control , was launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the People’s Republic of China, aboard a launcher Long March 3B
VENESAT-1 has dimensions of 3.6 x 2.1 x 15.6 meters and 5100 kg in weight. It is based on the DFH-4 platform. It has two Ku band antennas, a C band antenna and a Ka band antenna. Carries 12 C-band transponders, 2 Ka-band and 14 Ku-band transponders
