China launches its first all-electric propulsion telecommunication satellite

China's first all-electric propulsion telecommunication satellite officially commenced operational services on Monday following in-orbit and ground system technical review in Hong Kong, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the satellite's developer.

The APSTAR-6E satellite is a geostationary orbit satellite based on the DFH-3E satellite platform, with a designed lifespan of 15 years.

As the first bird of the DFH-3E series, it is the world's first telecommunication satellite to achieve fully autonomous orbit transfer from low Earth orbit to the geostationary orbit, the CASC said.

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The satellite was launched by a Long March-2C carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on Jan. 13, 2023. After separating from its independent propulsion module, the satellite was transferred to the synchronous orbit by its two electric propulsion systems.

It is used mainly to provide cost-effective, high-throughput broadband communication services for the Southeast Asia region.