Article:

China Launches New Communications Satellite

by Peter B. de Selding, Space News Staff Writer
Date: 08 December 2006 Time: 06:13 PM ET
SHARE

PARIS -- China's newest geostationary-orbiting meteorological satellite, FengYun 2D, was successfully launched Dec. 8 aboard a Chinese Long March 3A rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China, Chinese government officials announced.

The 3,086-pound (1,400-kilogram) satellite will operate from 86.5 degrees east longitude and will serve as a backup for the FengYun 2C satellite, which was launched in October 2004 and is located at 105 degrees east longitude.

China is an active member of the global World Weather Watch system, coordinated by the United Nations' World Meteorological Organization, which promotes free global sharing of weather data worldwide.

The Chinese Meteorological Administration, in November, announced it would extend the reach of its FengYun system as far west as Pakistan, and as far east as New Zealand, by leasing commercial telecommunications satellite capacity to relay the data to users equipped with small satellite-reception dish antennas.

SHARE

MORE FROM SPACE.com

  • This stunning photo of the Catamarca region of Argentina was taken on April 17, 2011 by NASA astronaut Ron Garan through a window on the International Space Station, 220 miles above Earth. Credit: NASA via Ron Garan/Astro_Ron

    Image Albums

  • In space, bubbles created by boiling water tend to be bigger than they are on Earth.

    Countdowns

  • Space shuttle Discovery sails high over the southwestern coast of Morocco in this image taken by International Space Station astronauts just after the two vehicles undocked on March 7, 2011 during the STS-133 mission.

    Topics

  • The planet Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and has a thick atmosphere and the fastest winds in the solar system.

    Infographics

MORE ARTICLES
Previous Article     Next Article