Algeria Successfully Launches Alsat-3A Satellite, Boosting High-Resolution Geospatial Capabilities
Algerian Army General Saïd Chanegriha, Minister Delegate to the Minister of National Defense and Chief of Staff of the People’s National Army (PNA), supervised on Thursday, from the Remote Sensing Satellite Station, the launch operation of the “Alsat-3A” satellite, according to a communiqué from the Ministry of National Defense.
“As part of efforts to strengthen and develop national capabilities in satellite monitoring, and in fulfillment 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 Defence and Chief of Staff of the People’s National Army (PNA), supervised on Thursday, January 15th, 2026, at 5:01 a.m. 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 source stated.
The event took place “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 General Staff of the PNA, 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 5:01 a.m. Algerian time (12:01 p.m. Chinese time), was successful and will provide our country with additional data through very high-resolution satellite capabilities dedicated to observation. It will also strengthen our capabilities in geospatial intelligence and value-added geospatial information, including mapping and digital terrain models (DTMs),” the communiqué emphasized. Algeria had launched its first Earth observation satellite, Alsat-1, in 2002, followed by Alsat-2A in 2010 and Alsat-2B in 2016, the communiqué recalled.
“The launch of this new satellite, to which Algerian experts contributed, represents a new achievement that strengthens our country’s geospatial capabilities in this field and attests to the efforts made by the Algerian State to master space technologies,” added the Ministry of National Defense.
