China To Launch First Direct Broadcasting Satellite

DRAGON SPACE

File photo: Illustration of SINOSAT-1.

by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Oct 23, 2006
China will launch its first direct broadcasting satellite this month in a move that could end a nationwide ban on the use of private satellite dishes, state press said Monday. The SINOSAT-2 will be launched on October 29 from the Xichang launch center in southwestern China's Sichuan province and is designed to bring television signals to "every farming household" in the nation, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The satellite will enable every farming household to receive TV signals using a small dish, thereby bringing educational programs and even remote medical services to farmers," the report quoted Sun Laiyan, chief of the China National Space Administration, as saying.

SINOSAT-2 will have a 15-year mission life and will provide TV and radio transmissions, digital films, direct TV and digital broadband, the report said, citing SINO Satellite Communications Co Ltd (SINOSAT), the satellite's Beijing-based state-owned operator.

The launch of the satellite could lead to the repeal of a ban on the individual use of satellite dishes, it said. The ban is widely ignored both in urban and rural areas.

Industry analysts predict that once individuals are allowed to install satellite dishes, up to 100 million households will do so between 2006 and 2010, the report said.

China currently has about 400 million television sets, a huge potential market for satellite TV, it added.

Source: Agence France-Presse

DRAGON SPACE

China To Launch New Meteorological Satellite

Beijing (XNA) Oct 23, 2006
China is to launch its second geosynchronous meteorological satellite on the "Long March 3" launch vehicle, from Xichang Satellite Launch Centre at the end of this year. The new geosynchronous meteorological satellite, Fengyun-2E (FY-2E), has passed through the examination and approval of Chinese experts after its assembly, according to a report by the People's Daily.

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