BEIJING (AP) -- A Chinese rocket blasted a
Nigerian communications satellite into orbit on Monday, marking an expansion of
China's commercial launching services for foreign space hardware, state media
said.
The official Xinhua News
Agency said it was the first time a foreign buyer has purchased a Chinese
satellite and its launching service.
The launch coincides with
the opening of the African Development Bank's annual board meeting in Shanghai this week, reflecting growing African-Chinese ties.
The Nigerian Communication
Satellite, or NIGCOMSAT-1, was launched
by a Long March 3-B rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan province early Monday, Xinhua said.
The launch was part of a
$311 million deal signed by China and Nigeria in 2004, and the satellite will
be used to expand cell phone and Internet services in central Africa, Xinhua
said.
China has been commissioned to send about
30 foreign satellites into space and signed several contracts offering
commercial launching services for foreign satellites, including one with Venezuela, it said.
The satellite, which was
developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., will be
monitored and tracked by China's Great Wall Industry Corp., it said.
Xinhua said the launch represented "China's
wish to cooperate with developing countries in the peaceful use of outer space
and to promote a closer relationship between China and African countries.''
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