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
|
|
Senate seeks to add $10 billion to NASA human spaceflight programs
Posted: Sat, Jun 7 10:46 AM ET (1446 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Sunday, June 15
Starlink mind games in South Africa
MyBroadband — 12:10 am ET (0410 GMT) Amazon Project Kuiper satellite launch scheduled for Monday afternoon
WESH-TV Orlando — 12:08 am ET (0408 GMT) Study highlights need to manage the growth of space exploration
Radio New Zealand — 12:06 am ET (0406 GMT) A Nazi rebranded as a Space Race hero – but you probably knew that already
The Daily Telegraph — 12:02 am ET (0402 GMT) NASA Considers Axiom Launch Next Week Following Delay
Bloomberg News — 12:02 am ET (0402 GMT) |
