ZX 11

ZX 11 (ChinaSat 11)

China (PR)

Spacecraft nº:

Chinese spacecraft nº: 203

Also called: Chinasat-11 - ZX= Zhongxing-11

Prime manufacturer	CAST
Platform	DFH-4 bus
Operator	China Satellite Communications Corp.
Mass at launch	~5000 kg
Dry Mass	kg
Basic shape
Dimension (m)
Equipment	45 C-band and Ku-band transponders
Solar array	2 deployable solar arrays
Stabilization
Propulsion
DC power
Design lifetime	15 yrs

Chinasat-11 is a commercial communications satellite that is operated by ChinaSatcom. The satellite was developed and manufactured by the China Academy of Space Technology based on the DFH-4 satellite bus that can facilitate powerful communications payloads for a number of applications.
The satellite platform is 2.36 by 2.10 by 3.60 meters in size with two 6-meter solar arrays. The solar arrays provide an end of mission power of 10,500 Watts. Onboard batteries are used to store power for night passes. The spacecraft is three-axis stabilized with high pointing accuracy.
Chinasat-11 is equipped with 19 Ku-Band and 26 C-Band transponders covering Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Australia and regions in the China Sea and Indian Ocean.
It is outfitted with three receiver antennas and two transmission antennas. The satellite uses high power fixed and mobile beams with transponder switching capability. The spacecraft will provide Direct-to-Home, data transmission, digital broadband multimedia and streaming media transmission. Chinasat-11 has a launch mass of 5,400 Kilograms and a design life of 15 years. It will operate from an orbital position of 98 degrees East. The spacecraft is the heaviest and most powerful commercial communications ever built in China.

Chinasat 11 lifted off aboard a Long March 3B rocket at 1606 GMT (12:06 p.m. EDT) from the Xichang launching center in Sichuan province in southwest China. Liftoff was at 12:06 a.m. Beijing time, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.
The Long March 3B launcher, sporting an enlarged first stage and liquid-fueled strap-on boosters, rocketed into the night from the mountainous space base, flying east over mainland China before deploying Chinasat 11 into orbit about a half-hour later.
The rocket deposited Chinasat 11 in an elliptical parking, and the spacecraft's own thrusters will circularize its altitude 22,300 miles over the equator in the next few weeks.

Ref.: #12, #110, #228 - update: 14.07.13