China to launch communications satellite for Turkmenistan

China will launch a communications satellite for Turkmenistan with its Long March-3B carrier rocket in 2014, the Chinese launch contractor said on Tuesday. The satellite will be Turkmenistan's first communications satellite. It will be sent into orbit at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan province, based on the SPACEBUS 4000C2 platform made by Thales Alenia Space France (TASF), according to a contract signed by the French company and the China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC). Carrying a Ku-band transponder, the satellite is designed to weigh about 4.5 tonnes with a life span of 15 years. As the only Chinese company engaged in international commercial satellite launching services, CGWIC, a subsidiary of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, has launched 38 foreign satellites since 1990.