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

SupremeSAT SupremeSAT (Pvt) Ltd. is the first and only Sri Lankan satellite operator. It has partnership with satellite manufacturing institution China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC). SupremeSAT deployed the first Sri Lankan satellite, Supreme SAT- ...

, a Sri Lankan 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 Apstar-7 is a Chinese communications satellite which is operated by APT Satellite as part of the Apstar system. It was launched in 2012 as a replacement for the Apstar 2R satellite launched in 1997. Apstar-7 was constructed by Thales Alenia Spac ...

), 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 Franco-Italian aerospace manufacturer. A joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (33%), the company is the largest satellite manufactur ...

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