By IANS,
Colombo : A Chinese state-owned firm will Tuesday launch Sri Lanka’s first communication satellite developed by a private company, an official said Monday.
The satellite is a joint venture between Sri Lankan company SupremeSAT (Pvt) Ltd. and China’s state-owned China Great Wall Industry Corporation, Xinhua reported.
The launch was initially expected to take place Nov 22 but was postponed due to bad weather, said space systems engineer Rohitha Rajapaksa.
It will be launched from the Xi Chang satellite launch centre in Sichuan province.
According to Xinhua, the Sri Lankan government, however, has distanced itself from the launch, insisting there is no state involvement.
The total investment for the project is estimated at $320 million. This includes the construction of a satellite Content Management Station and a Space Academy in Sri Lanka’s central town of Kandy.