Algerian Radio
Army General Saïd Chanegriha, Minister Delegate to the Minister of National Defense and Chief of Staff of the People's National Army (PNA), supervised the launch operation of the "Alsat-3A" satellite on Thursday at the Remote Sensing Satellite Station, according to a press release from the Ministry of National Defense (MND).
"Within the framework of consolidating and developing national capabilities in the field of satellite surveillance, and in realization of the partnership between the Algerian Space Agency (ASAL) and the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, Army General Saïd Chanegriha, Minister Delegate to the Minister of National Defense and Chief of Staff of the People's National Army, supervised today, Thursday, January 15, 2026, at 05:01 AM (local time), at the Remote Sensing Satellite Station, the launch operation of the 'Alsat-3A' satellite from the Jiuquan Launch Base in the northwest of the People's Republic of China," the same source specifies.
This took place, the statement adds, "in the presence of the Commander of the 1st Military Region, Heads of Departments, and Central Directors of the Ministry of National Defense and the PNA General Staff, alongside the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Algeria, the Director General of ASAL, and the Defense Attaché at the Chinese Embassy in Algiers."
"The launch operation of the Alsat-3A satellite, which took place at 05:01 Algerian time (12:01 Chinese time), was crowned with success. It will allow our country to access additional data through very high-resolution satellite capabilities dedicated to observation, and to consolidate our system in the field of geospatial intelligence and value-added geospatial information, such as mapping and digital terrain models," emphasizes the press release.
The communiqué recalls that the country had proceeded with the launch of its first satellite dedicated to earth observation, Alsat-1, in 2002, before the launch of the Alsat-2A and Alsat-2B satellites in 2010 and 2016.
"The launch of this new satellite, to which Algerian experts contributed, represents a new achievement reinforcing our country's geospatial capabilities in this field, and confirms the efforts made by the Algerian State with a view to mastering space technologies," the MND adds.
