Tuesday, June 10, 2008

ChinaSat-9 Propelled Into Orbit



ChinaSat-9 has been launched into orbit — otherwise known as ZhongXing-9 (ZX-9), the satellite was carried aloft by a CZ-3B Chang Zeng-3B (CZ3B-10 launch vehicle from the LC2 launch complex at the XiChang Launch Center. ChinaSat-9 will be operated by China Direct Broadcast Satellite Company, Limited, and the manufacturer is Thales Alenia Space, with the satellite based on the company's Spacebus-4000C2 platform. This satellite is a integral component of China's 1G DBS system. With 22 Ku- (18 36 MHz + four 54 MHz) band transponders, the orbital slot for ChinaSat-9 is at 92.2° E. ChinaSat-9 uses the ABS-S (Advanced Broadcast System-Satellite) technology that offers a 30 percent boost on the bandwidth efficiency of the transponder. The new Chinese satellite has a life expectancy of 15 years and will be able to broadcast to approximately 98 percent of the population of China, to include Hong Kong, Macao, as well as Taiwan. China Direct Broadcast Satellite is also planning to launch their Xinnuo-4 (Sinosat-4) and Xinnuo-6 (Sinosat-6) satellites by the year 2010. As you may recall, a 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck the Sichuan province in China on May 12th—fortunately, the XiChang Satellite Launch Center avoided damage, which allowed the launch to proceed.

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