China is to launch "SinoSat 3", another satellite for television
broadcasting, in May next year, said spokesman Fan Xinming of the
SinoSat on Tuesday.
He made the promise after the SinoSat-2, a broadcasting
satellite launched on Oct. 29 became defunct because of the failure
of its solar arrays and communications antenna.
Fan said in a statement that "research and preparation works for
the new satellite have been going on smoothly".
The SinoSat-2 satellite "has unfortunately suffered serious
technical anomaly, causing the deployment of its solar arrays and
communications antennas unable to be completed," he said. "The
spacecraft is thus unable to be put into broadcasting and
telecommunications services."
The spokesman said high risk is one of the characteristics of
space industry, noting many other satellite operators home and
abroad have suffered from similar situations before.
"As a Chinese satellite operator, SinoSat will continue to
devote itself in provision of better sky-based communications and
broadcasting services to the country and the region, and at the
meantime, keep its support to the domestic space manufacturing
industry," he said.
The SinoSat-2 satellite is now located in quasi-GEO orbit near
92.2E.Further analysis and investigation is being conducted on the
anomaly by the satellite manufacturer, Fan said.
(Xinhua News Agency November 28, 2006)