China launches communications satellite
Posted: Fri, Jun 1, 2007, 1:55 PM ET (1755 GMT)
China launched a communications satellite early Friday that is designed to be a partial replacement for one that failed shortly after launch last year. A Long March 3A rocket lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 12:08 pm EDT Thursday (1608 GMT Thursday, 12:08 am local time Friday) and placed the SinoSat-3 communications satellite into a geosychronous transfer orbit 24 minutes later. The satellite, built by the China Academy of Space Technology, will operate at 125 degrees east in GEO. The launch comes a little more than six months after SinoSat-2 was launched; that spacecraft failed to deploy its solar panels and was eventually declared a total loss. While SinoSat-3 may provide some of the same capabilities originally planned for SinoSat-2, a replacement satellite will be built and launched by the end of the decade. This launch was the 100th for the Long March family of vehicles, dating back to the first Chinese orbital launch in 1970.
China launched a communications satellite early Friday that is designed to be a partial replacement for one that failed shortly after launch last year. A Long March 3A rocket lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 12:08 pm EDT Thursday (1608 GMT Thursday, 12:08 am local time Friday) and placed the SinoSat-3 communications satellite into a geosychronous transfer orbit 24 minutes later. The satellite, built by the China Academy of Space Technology, will operate at 125 degrees east in GEO. The launch comes a little more than six months after SinoSat-2 was launched; that spacecraft failed to deploy its solar panels and was eventually declared a total loss. While SinoSat-3 may provide some of the same capabilities originally planned for SinoSat-2, a replacement satellite will be built and launched by the end of the decade. This launch was the 100th for the Long March family of vehicles, dating back to the first Chinese orbital launch in 1970.| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Saturday, September 12
US Space Command Should Always Be Led by a Guardian
Air and Space Forces Magazine — 12:42 am ET (0442 GMT) More hotels and roads? Here's how SpaceX could change the economy in Acadiana.
Acadiana (LA) Advocate — 12:39 am ET (0439 GMT) SpaceX to Get Weighting Boost in Nasdaq 100 After Rebalance
Bloomberg News — 12:38 am ET (0438 GMT) India needs to launch the space act it keeps scrubbing
The Times of India — 12:37 am ET (0437 GMT) Greek Astrophysicist Calls for European Space Autonomy
Greek City Times — 12:35 am ET (0435 GMT) |
