APSTAR IA successfully launched from China.XICHANG, China--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 3, 1996--APSTAR IA, a U.S.-built satellite designed to carry general communications traffic throughout much of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, region of Asia (1990 est. pop. 442,500,000), c.1,740,000 sq mi (4,506,600 sq km), bounded roughly by the Indian subcontinent on the west, China on the north, and the Pacific Ocean on the east. , was successfully launched Wednesday from the space center at Xichang, Sichuan Province, in southwestern China. The HS 376 model satellite was built by Hughes Space and Communications Company (HSC HSC - High Speed Connect ) of Los Angeles for APT Satellite Company Ltd. of Hong Kong. HSC is part of Hughes Electronics Corp. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :GMH GMH General Motors Holden's ). "This successful event reaffirms our confidence in the Chinese launch industry," said C. Michael Armstrong C Michael Armstong (born 18 October, 1938, in Detroit, Michigan) is the former AT&T chairman and CEO, who tried to reestablish AT&T as an end-to-end carrier. Unfortunately, due to the dot.com bust and various other issues, he was forced to break the group up in 2001. , chairman and chief executive officer of Hughes Electronics. Armstrong was in China last month and was "assured by space industry officials that this launch would be a success. Their assurances were well founded and today demonstrates that China is a capable launch provider." Another Hughes satellite built for ChinaSat, which is part of China's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, is scheduled for launch on a Chinese Long March rocket in August. In Wednesday's launch, a Long March 3 rocket lifted off at 6:47 p.m. Beijing time (3:47 a.m. PDT PDT abbr. Pacific Daylight Time PDT Pacific Daylight Time PDT n abbr (US) (= Pacific Daylight Time) → hora de verano del Pacífico PDT , 10:47 a.m. GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) See UTC. GMT - Universal Time 1 ) and carried the satellite for about 20 minutes to a parking orbit. Satellite controllers have contacted APSTAR IA, and indications are that it is operating normally. Over the next few days, the spacecraft's own propulsion system will be used to position it 22,300 miles (36,000 km) above the equator. There it will undergo several weeks of on-orbit testing before being put into service. APSTAR IA will carry general communications traffic such as voice, data and television signals across China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam and India. It includes coverage for India that was not available on the APSTAR I satellite, a similar HS 376 model built by Hughes and launched on a Long March 3 on July 21, 1994. APSTAR IA is the eighth of 11 Hughes satellites scheduled to be launched this year. Hughes is the leading manufacturer of commercial communications satellites, having built more than 40% of those operating today. CONTACT: Hughes Electronics Corp., Los Angeles Fran Slimmer, 310/364-7575 |
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