A Long March 3B rocket launched the Chinasat 11 communications satellite May 1 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China, according to the satellite’s Beijing-based owner, the China Satellite Communications Corp.
Chinasat 11 is equipped with 45 Ku- and C-band transponders to deliver direct broadcast television and broadband Internet services to commercial customers in Asia, Africa and Australia. The satellite is based on China’s DFH-4 platform and was designed and manufactured by China Academy of Space Technology under China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., according to a statement posted on the China Satellite Communications Corp. website.
The Chinasat 11 launch followed an April 26 launch from northwest China’s Jiuquan space center of a Long March 2D rocket carrying China’s Gaofen 1 Earth observation satellite and three cubesats from Argentina, Ecuador and Turkey.
