China Great Wall Industry Corporation celebrated the arrival fo the new century s with the award of a new contract from Hong Kong-based APT Satellite Co., Ltd. A contract signing ceremony was held at the new Hong Kong Exhibition & Conference on January 8, 2001, during which the companies’ respective presidents, Mr. Zhang Xinxia and Mr. He Kerang, executed the launch services contract on behalf of their two companies. The contract covers the launch of the APSTAR V satellite built by Space Systems Loral with an LM-3B launch vehicle from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in early 2003.
During the ceremony, APT and Loral signed the APSTAR V satellite contract, and Singapore Telecom also signed a transponder release agreement with APT.
APSTAR V is a GEO telecommunications satellite built by Space Systems Loral on a FS1300 platform. The satellite is fitted with 54 transponders and has an in-orbit life span of 13 years as well as a lift-off mass of 4800 kg – the heaviest satellite for any LM-3B launch mission to date.
The LM-3B is the most powerful launch vehicle in the commercial Long March fleet, and was designed and built by China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. The LM-3B is an extremely reliable launch vehicle, with an overall mission success rate of 80%.
This new contract for the new millennium marks the close relationship between the Chinese aerospace sector and the Hong Kong telecommunications industry. In 1990, China Great Wall successfully completed the launch of AsiaSat-1 with an LM-3, the first international commercial launch mission for China’s aerospace industry. In the previous decade, China Great Wall has completed five launch services contracts for Hong Kong customers, sending five communications satellites into pre-determined orbits. China’s high-tech aerospace sector has made positive contributions to the development of Kong Hong’s telecommunications industry and the progress of Hong Kong science and technology.