 摘要：
北京时间4月12日20时0分，我国在西昌卫星发射中心用“长征三号乙”捆绑式运载火箭，成功地将“亚太六号”通信卫星送入太空。
China re-entered space yesterday evening,
sending a communication satellite into orbit atop a Long March 3B
rocket from a launch pad in Xichang in Southwest China's Sichuan
Province.
新华网西昌4月12日电（记者奚启新）北京时间4月12日20时0分，我国在西昌卫星发射中心用“长征三号乙”捆绑式运载火箭，成功地将“亚太六号”通信卫星送入太空。这是自1999年以来，我国首次进行的国际商业通信卫星发射。
“长征三号乙”运载火箭起飞25分钟后，星箭准确分离。据西安卫星测控中心传来的数据表明，“亚太六号”通信卫星已顺利进入近地点高度209公里、远地点高度49991公里、轨道倾角26度的超地球同步转移轨道，发射获得圆满成功。
“长征三号乙”是我国长征系列火箭中运载能力最大的运载火箭，可将5.1吨左右的有效载荷送入地球同步转移轨道，能够满足当前国际市场上不同用途、不同重量、不同轨道要求的卫星发射需要，在国际商业卫星发射市场享有良好声誉。这次发射是我国长征系列运载火箭的第84次飞行，也是我国自1996年10月以来，长征系列运载火箭发射连续第42次获得成功。
“亚太六号”卫星由法国阿尔卡特空间公司制造，香港亚太通信卫星有限公司承购经营，中国长城工业总公司是这次国际商业卫星发射的总承包商。这颗卫星起飞重量约为4.6吨，星上拥有38个Ｃ频段和12个Ku频段转发器，投入使用后，将接替“亚太一号”A星，成为中国、东南亚、澳大利亚以及美国夏威夷等国家和地区重要的卫星通信广播平台。
我国进入国际商业卫星发射市场以来，共承揽了20多次商业卫星发射，先后为10多个国家和地区提供卫星发射服务。这次发射的“亚太六号”通信卫星，是我国成功发射的第30颗国外卫星。
China
re-entered space yesterday evening, sending a communication
satellite into orbit atop a Long March 3B rocket from a launch pad
in Xichang in Southwest China's Sichuan Province.
A
spokesman for the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology said
the flight, which blasted off at 8 pm, is the 84th successful
flight of China's Long-March rocket since its maiden voyage in
1970, and the 42nd consecutive successful flight since October
1996.
The
successful launch of the communication satellite, AsiaSat-6 which
will be used by Hong Kong-based company APT Satellite Limited,
represents the return of Chinese rockets to the international
commercial launch market after an absence of seven years, said a
spokesman.
The
AsiaSat-6, which has 50 transponders, was launched to replace
AsiaSat-1 A.
The
successful launch has shown the Long March rocket, which has the
biggest carrying capacity of any commercial launch vehicle, is
capable of carrying any satellite with a maximum weight of 5,100
kilograms into orbit.
Experts
noted that the successful launch will have great significance for
the development of China's aerospace technology and for China's
expansion into the overseas commercial launch market.
Experts
said the 62 successful flights by the rockets developed by China
Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology helped put 39 China-made
satellites, 28 overseas-made satellites and five space vessels,
including one manned mission, into orbit over the past 35 years.
China
announced in 1985 its decision to enter the international
commercial launch market, and it successfully launched a US-made
satellite AsiaSat-1 in 1990.
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