China Nears Rocket Deal
欧美业内官员表示，中国的运载火箭业将在商业领域打出漂亮的一击，近10年来首次为西方大型运营商发射私营通信卫星。预计协议将于下个月宣布。根据协议，中国将为法国Eutelsat Communications把一颗重达5.4吨的卫星送入轨道。它代表着北京坚持不懈地扩大中国太空技术领域和全球影响的努力达到了新的高度。Xinhua/Landov搭载着一颗卫星的中国长征号火箭去年12月升空时的情景北京推出了雄心勃勃的卫星建造计划和载人太空探索项目，现在又将为欧洲大型运营商发射卫星，这很可能令美国国防部和国会对中国跃升为太空技术强国感到越发担忧。此时正值奥巴马政府重新全面审视美中关系，美国国会议员加紧就可能放宽对涉及太空项目硬件的出口限制进行又一轮的辩论。Eutelsat的发言人拒绝置评。记者尚且无法联系到中国驻美使馆发言人发表评论。Eutelsat卫星将于2010年下半年发射，由最新一代长征系列运载火箭送入轨道。这可能会促使西方其他大型卫星运营商与中国发射商达成类似的安排。大部分情况下，用长征系列运载火箭比用与之相当的欧洲和俄罗斯火箭价格要低得多。此外，业内官员说，以Eutelsat的具体情况来看，选择中国供应商还因为它需要尽快进行发射，以弥补最近损失的另外一颗高轨道卫星。上次用中国火箭发射西方卫星是在1998年。不过此后，美国加强了有关出口控制的法律，限制用中国火箭运载含美国零部件的卫星。因此，Eutelsat卫星的制造商法国Thales和意大利器械工业投资公司(Finmeccanica)的合资企业开发出了不含任何美国零部件的卫星系列。这家企业是欧洲最大的卫星制造商。Thales的美国发言人周二说，目前仍在建造中的这颗卫星可以用任何商业运载火箭进行发射，这要取决于客户的选择。由于中国的政策制定者和业内官员多年来都在表示希望扩大商业产品和服务，中国此举是意料之中的。过去几年中，Eutelsat和Thales密切合作，寻找与中国建立战略合作伙伴关系的途径，从一定程度上靠的是与中国达成卫星发射合同。从2007年开始，这家由Thales牵头的合资企业获得了几份合同，其中大部分来自外国政府，为它们建造不含美国零部件的小型通信卫星，并用中国火箭进行发射。这种低成本一揽子交易帮助长征系列运载火箭重返商业市场，不过也引发了一些美国国会议员的批评。最近，Eutelsat表示有意把长征系列火箭包括在保险范围内，用中国运载火箭来发射一些主流商业卫星。Andy Pasztor相关阅读朝鲜暗示正准备进行火箭发射 2009-02-17美俄两颗卫星太空相撞 2009-02-12 本文涉及股票或公司document.write (truthmeter('2009年02月25日10:08', '1022123.FR'));Eutelsat Communications总部地点：法国上市地点：PARB股票代码：ETL
China's rocket industry is about to score a commercial coup with its first deal in nearly a decade to launch a private communications satellite for a major Western operator, according to U.S. and European industry officials.The agreement to put a 5.4-ton satellite for France's Eutelsat Communications into orbit, expected to be announced next month, represents a high-water mark for Beijing's persistent campaign to expand the scope and global influence of Chinese space technology.Coupled with Beijing's ambitious satellite-construction program and aggressive manned space exploration efforts, the latest move is likely to heighten concerns inside the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill about China's ascendancy as a space power. It comes as President Barack Obama's administration is reexamining U.S.-Chinese relations across the board, and U.S. lawmakers are gearing up for another debate about possibly loosening American export-control restrictions affecting space hardware.A Eutelsat spokeswoman declined to comment and a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington couldn't immediately be reached for comment.Slated to be launched by a latest-generation Long March rocket in the second half of 2010, the example of the Eutelsat satellite could prompt other large Western satellite operators to enter similar arrangements with Chinese launch providers. It's significantly less expensive in most cases to launch on a Long March, versus comparable European or Russian rockets.In Eutelsat's case, industry officials said, the company was also motivated to pick the Chinese because it needed to line up a launch quickly to compensate for the recent loss of another of its high-Earth orbit satellites.The last launch of a Western satellite on a Chinese rocket took place in 1998. But since then, U.S. export-control laws prohibiting launching satellites with American parts on Chinese rockets were tightened. So the joint venture between France's Thales and Italy's Finmeccanica -- which is Europe's leading satellite manufacturer and made the Eutelsat satellite -- has developed a family of satellites without any U.S. parts.A U.S. spokesman for Thales said Tuesday that 'depending on a customer's choice,' the satellite under construction can be launched by any commercial launcher.'China's move is hardly a surprise, since policy makers and space officials for years have talked about their desire to expand commercial offerings. In the last few years, Eutelsat and Thales have worked closely together to find ways to establish a strategic partnership with the Chinese, relying partly on contracting for Chinese launches.Starting in 2007, the Thales-led venture snared a few contracts, mostly from foreign governments, to build smaller communications satellites stripped of U.S. parts and launch them on Chinese rockets. Such low-cost package deals helped the Long March Rocket return to the commercial market, but they also prompted criticism from some U.S lawmakers. More recently, Eutelsat signaled its intention to use Chinese launchers for some of its mainstream commercial satellites by lining up insurance coverage that included Long March rockets.Andy Pasztor
China's rocket industry is about to score a commercial coup with its first deal in nearly a decade to launch a private communications satellite for a major Western operator, according to U.S. and European industry officials.The agreement to put a 5.4-ton satellite for France's Eutelsat Communications into orbit, expected to be announced next month, represents a high-water mark for Beijing's persistent campaign to expand the scope and global influence of Chinese space technology.Coupled with Beijing's ambitious satellite-construction program and aggressive manned space exploration efforts, the latest move is likely to heighten concerns inside the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill about China's ascendancy as a space power. It comes as President Barack Obama's administration is reexamining U.S.-Chinese relations across the board, and U.S. lawmakers are gearing up for another debate about possibly loosening American export-control restrictions affecting space hardware.A Eutelsat spokeswoman declined to comment and a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington couldn't immediately be reached for comment.Slated to be launched by a latest-generation Long March rocket in the second half of 2010, the example of the Eutelsat satellite could prompt other large Western satellite operators to enter similar arrangements with Chinese launch providers. It's significantly less expensive in most cases to launch on a Long March, versus comparable European or Russian rockets.In Eutelsat's case, industry officials said, the company was also motivated to pick the Chinese because it needed to line up a launch quickly to compensate for the recent loss of another of its high-Earth orbit satellites.The last launch of a Western satellite on a Chinese rocket took place in 1998. But since then, U.S. export-control laws prohibiting launching satellites with American parts on Chinese rockets were tightened. So the joint venture between France's Thales and Italy's Finmeccanica -- which is Europe's leading satellite manufacturer and made the Eutelsat satellite -- has developed a family of satellites without any U.S. parts.A U.S. spokesman for Thales said Tuesday that 'depending on a customer's choice,' the satellite under construction can be launched by any commercial launcher.'China's move is hardly a surprise, since policy makers and space officials for years have talked about their desire to expand commercial offerings. In the last few years, Eutelsat and Thales have worked closely together to find ways to establish a strategic partnership with the Chinese, relying partly on contracting for Chinese launches.Starting in 2007, the Thales-led venture snared a few contracts, mostly from foreign governments, to build smaller communications satellites stripped of U.S. parts and launch them on Chinese rockets. Such low-cost package deals helped the Long March Rocket return to the commercial market, but they also prompted criticism from some U.S lawmakers. More recently, Eutelsat signaled its intention to use Chinese launchers for some of its mainstream commercial satellites by lining up insurance coverage that included Long March rockets.Andy Pasztor