(Xinhua via NewsEdge) China will launch a new satellite for television broadcasting, mobile communications and other services in late October, said Sun Laiyan, administrator of the China National Space Administration.
The Xinnuo 2 satellite was given the green light to leave the factory Monday after passing final checks by the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.
A Long March 3B carrier rocket to be used to launch the satellite also passed final checks on Monday.
Xinnuo 2 is China's first large-capacity communications satellite, according to experts from the Chinese Research Institute of Space Technology.
The satellite, designed to have a 15-year lifespan, will provide live television broadcasting services to the Chinese mainland, as well as Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
The satellite, which took China six years to develop, marked a breakthrough in China's development of a new generation of large-capacity static orbit satellites, said Sun.
He added that China achieved several important technology breakthroughs through independent research during the development of the satellite. It now held intellectual property rights over these technologies.
© 2006 Xinhua News Agency
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