Vietnam says French investment is helping it prepare to launch its first remote sensing satellite into orbit from the Kourou launch center in Guyana.

The VNREDSat-1 Project has a total investment of $73.3 million in preferential Overseas Development Assistance from the French government and $3.1 million in corresponding capital from Vietnam, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Friday.

The VNREDSat-1, designed and constructed by the French company Astrium SAS, will allow Vietnam to provide high resolution satellite images to ministries, agencies, provinces and cities once it's launched Saturday, the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology said.

The 260-pound satellite, which will help the Vietnamese government cope with natural disasters and climate change, has a designed operational lifetime of five years, officials said.