Posted: Tue, Jun 10, 2008, 6:40 AM ET (1040 GMT)
A Long March rocket launched a French-built communications satellite on Monday that will be used to provide TV coverage of the upcoming Olympics. The Long March 3B rocket lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center and placed into geosynchronous transfer orbit the Zhongxing-9 (Chinasat-9) satellite. The spacecraft, built by Thales Alenia Space for Chinese company China Satcom, will initially be used to improve the quality and coverage of TV broadcasts of the Beijing Olympics across China. The spacecraft, a Spacebus 4000 model, weighed about 4,500 kilograms at launch and carries 22 Ku-band transponders; it will operate from 92.2 degrees east in GEO.

Related Links:

•  Xinhua article
•  Spaceflight Now article
•  NASA SpaceFlight.com article
•  Space News article (subscription required)
•  CCTV article