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China launches satellite, plans 10 more by end-2004
Beijing, Nov 15: China put a communications satellite into orbit on Saturday, the first of nearly a dozen orbiters the country plans to launch by the end of next year, state media today said.
Beijing, Nov 15: China put a communications satellite into
orbit on Saturday, the first of nearly a dozen orbiters the country
plans to launch by the end of next year, state media today said.
The Zhongxing 20, the fourth launch since China's first manned
space flight last month, blasted off atop a long March 3A rocket
from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in the southwestern
province of Sichuan, the Xinhua news agency said.
The fast pace of launches was due in part to an improved testing procedure that had more than halved the time needed between launches at a given centre to less than 30 days, the China daily quoted Zhang Qingwei, Deputy Chief Commander of the manned space programme, as saying.
''The active space programme reflects our experience and expertise, especially our confidence in the quality and reliability of Chinese launch vehicles and spacecraft,'' Zhang was quoted as saying.
The next satellite, a ''geospace exploration'' device, would go up in December, he added.
China would launch an average of 10 satellites a year from 2006 to 2010, double the pace of the planned 2001 to 2006 launch schedule, Zhang said.
''To serve national economic growth, defence and scientific research purposes, the country will send up to nine satellites into space next year alone,'' he added.
Bureau Report
The fast pace of launches was due in part to an improved testing procedure that had more than halved the time needed between launches at a given centre to less than 30 days, the China daily quoted Zhang Qingwei, Deputy Chief Commander of the manned space programme, as saying.
''The active space programme reflects our experience and expertise, especially our confidence in the quality and reliability of Chinese launch vehicles and spacecraft,'' Zhang was quoted as saying.
The next satellite, a ''geospace exploration'' device, would go up in December, he added.
China would launch an average of 10 satellites a year from 2006 to 2010, double the pace of the planned 2001 to 2006 launch schedule, Zhang said.
''To serve national economic growth, defence and scientific research purposes, the country will send up to nine satellites into space next year alone,'' he added.
Bureau Report