Sino Satellite Communications Company

Sino Satellite Communications Company
鑫诺卫星

Former type	Limited company
Industry	Aerospace
Fate	Merged into China DBSAT
Founded	May 1994[1]
Defunct	January 2008
Headquarters	Beijing, People's Republic of China
Area served	mainland China
Products	Satellite communication
Website	www.sinosatcom.com

The Sino Satellite Communications Company or Sinosat (Chinese: 鑫诺卫星) was a Chinese limited company, which provided satellite communications through a pair of communications satellites in geostationary orbit. It ceased to exist in January 2008, when it merged with the China Satellite Communications Corporation to form the China Direct Broadcast Satellite Company.^[2] Their two satellites were, Sinosat-1 and Sinosat-3. A third satellite, Sinosat-2, failed shortly after launch.

Satellites

Sinosat-1

Sinosat-1 was built by Aérospatiale using a Spacebus 3000 satellite bus. It was launched by a Long March 3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre at 09:20 GMT on 18 July 1998. It was placed into a geostationary orbit, and is currently operating in a slot at 110.5° East of the Greenwich Meridian.^[3] With the merger of Sinosat into China DBSAT, it was redesignated Chinasat 5B.

Sinosat-2

Sinosat-2 was based on the DFH-4 bus. It was launched at 16:20 GMT on 28 October 2006, also using a Long March 3B. After launch, its solar panels and communications antenna failed to deploy, making the satellite unusable.^[4]

Sinosat-3

Sinosat-3 is a DFH-3 satellite, which was launched at 16:08 GMT on 31 May 2007. A Long March 3A rocket was used to place it into geosynchronous transfer orbit, making the 100th flight of a Long March rocket. It operates in geostationary orbit at 125° East.^[5] With the merger of Sinosat into China DBSAT, it was redesignated Chinasat 5C.

Sinosat-6

Launched in 2010 by a Long March rocket

See also

• Chinasat
• List of Long March launches

References

1. "Company Profile". About Us. Sino Satellite Communications Company Ltd. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
2. "First Chinese Satellite Conglomerate Beams Into Operation". Space Daily. 2 January 2008. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
3. "Sinosat-1". Satellite Systems. Sino Satellite Communications Company Ltd. Archived from the original on 11 December 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
4. Krebs, Gunter. "Sinosat-2". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
5. "Sinosat-3". Satellite Systems. Sino Satellite Communications Company Ltd. Archived from the original on 11 December 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2009.

External links

• Sino Satellite Communications Company