ChinaSatcom’s Chinasat 6B telecommunication satellite was boosted into orbit July 5 by a Long March 3B rocket, satellite prime contractor Thales Alenia Space announced.

Based on the Spacebus 4000 C2 platform, Chinasat 6B carries 38 C-band transponders and will be dedicated to television broadcasting, allowing reception of up to 300 television programs across China, Southeast Asia, the Pacific and Oceania.

Thales Alenia Space assisted ChinaSatcom on the launch campaign and will support orbital positioning and in-orbit tests.