China will launch a new direct broadcast satellite later this
year after its predecessor, Sinosat-2, suffered a fatal technical
failure in space one month after its launch.
Chinasat-9, also the country's second direct-to-home satellite,
was scheduled to be launched in September or October, said Du
Baichuan, deputy director of the science and technology sector of
the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.
Du gave no specific timetable for the launch.
The France-made Chinasat-9 is capable of covering almost all of
China, making it possible for at least 98 percent of the population
to receive satellite television using small dishes.
Chinasat-9 was originally planned to complement Sinosat-2 as
mutual back-up to form China's first-generation direct broadcast
satellite system.
SinoSat-2, China's first direct-to-home satellite, was launched
on Oct. 29 last year. It was revealed a month later that it failed
to deploy its solar panels and communication antennae and was
deemed inoperable.
China has 12.6 million digital TV subscribers and a total of 400
million television sets, suggesting a huge potential market for
satellite TV.
(Xinhua News Agency March 16, 2007)