The mainland's commercial satellite launch sector broke a two-year dry spell yesterday with the signing of a contract between Italy's Alenia Aerospazio and China Great Wall Industry Corp. According to the contract, the launch of the Italian probe is scheduled for the first half of 2001 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre. This is the first time Great Wall will provide launch services for Alenia and the first time that the Long March 3A launch vehicle will be used to put a foreign client's satellite in orbit. Alenia's Satelcom satellite is a geo-stationary telecommunications probe which is being built to provide broadband multimedia services for Europe and America under the name of Atlantic Gate. The launch contract was the first that Great Wall has signed in two years and signals a new stage in the corporation's strategy of comprehensive international co-operation and the opening of new markets. 'I believe that with many fields to explore, the space co-operation between China and Europe has a promising future,' said Zhang Xinxia, president of Great Wall. Already in the works are further potential contracts between CGWIC and Alenia besides the initial launch. 'We are exploring further launch opportunities with [China Great Wall],' said Giuseppe Viriglio, head of Alenia Aerospazio's space division. Many potential United States clients pulled out of launches with Great Wall in recent years because of stringent US technology export laws, causing the loss to Great Wall of contracts worth hundreds of millions US dollars. A third of Great Wall's international customers have come from the US, the remaining two-thirds have been from the Asia-Pacific region. Great Wall has sent 25 foreign commercial satellites into orbit during 23 launches as well as completing five piggy-back launch missions for foreign clients. The latest launch was just last week, when the Brazilian earth resources satellite, ZY-1, built in co-operation with the mainland, successfully lifted off from the Taiyuan Launching Centre in Shanxi province. AEROSPACE
