China is to launch "SinoSat 3", another satellite for television broadcasting, in May next year, said spokesman Fan Xinming of the SinoSat on Tuesday.

He made the promise after the SinoSat-2, a broadcasting satellite launched on Oct. 29 became defunct because of the failure of its solar arrays and communications antenna.

Fan said in a statement that "research and preparation works for the new satellite have been going on smoothly".

The SinoSat-2 satellite "has unfortunately suffered serious technical anomaly, causing the deployment of its solar arrays and communications antennas unable to be completed," he said. "The spacecraft is thus unable to be put into broadcasting and telecommunications services."

The spokesman said high risk is one of the characteristics of space industry, noting many other satellite operators home and abroad have suffered from similar situations before.

"As a Chinese satellite operator, SinoSat will continue to devote itself in provision of better sky-based communications and broadcasting services to the country and the region, and at the meantime, keep its support to the domestic space manufacturing industry," he said.

The SinoSat-2 satellite is now located in quasi-GEO orbit near 92.2E.Further analysis and investigation is being conducted on the anomaly by the satellite manufacturer, Fan said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 28, 2006)