China launches ‘most powerful’ TV satellite

China has launched its most powerful communications satellite to transmit TV and data to commercial customers across Asia, Africa and Australia for the next 15 years, rapidtvnews.com reports.

According to Spaceflight Now, the Chinasat 11 satellite, owned by state-run China Satellite Communications Corp, will provide millions of customers in China and surrounding regions with direct-to-home (DTH) television, digital broadband and streaming media services.

The spacecraft is the heaviest and most powerful commercial communications ever built in China, according to its manufacturer, the China Academy of Space Technology.

Based on the DFH-4 platform developed by the academy, Chinasat 11 carries a suite of Ku-band and C-band transponders to broadcast programming across a footprint containing over half the world’s population.