| 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.
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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 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 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.
Launched in 2010 by a Long March rocket
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