The ChinaSat 12 () communications satellite is wholly owned by China Satellite Communications, with part of its communications payload leased or rented by SupremeSAT, a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

n company, to be marketed to potential users as ''SupremeSAT-I''. Once operational, it will provide communications services for the China, Sri Lanka, East Asia, South Asia, Middle East, Africa, Australia, and China sea area, the Indian Ocean region. ChinaSat 12 was also known as Apstar 7B (as a backup of Apstar 7), but acquired by China Satellite Communications from its subsidiary

APT Satellite Holdings APT Satellite Holdings Limited is a Bermuda-incorporated holding company. Its Hong Kong-incorporated subsidiary APT Satellite Co., Ltd. is the operator of the Apstar satellite constellation. APT Satellite Holdings and APT Satellite are headquarte ...

in 2010. However, APT Satellite Holdings was contracted by its parent company as the operator of ChinaSat 12.

Orbit

Following launch on 27 November 2012,2012 - Launches to Orbit and Beyond
/ref> the satellite was placed into geosynchronous orbit and located at 51.5° East while being tested. The satellite was built by

Thales Alenia Space Thales Alenia Space () is a joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (company), Leonardo (33%). The company is headquartered in Cannes, France. It provides space-based ...

and has a designed life of 15 years.

Gallery

File:CZ-3B.svg, Diagram of the Long March 3B, showing its outboard liquid rocket boosters. File:The Launch of Long March 3B Rocket.jpg, The launch of a Long March 3B (similar to CZ-3B/E (Chang Zheng-3B/E))

References

Communications satellites in geostationary orbit Spacecraft launched in 2012 Satellites of China Communications satellites of China 2012 in China Spacecraft launched by Long March rockets {{China-spacecraft-stub