China to build new satellite launch site
20:50, 14 September 2009
BEIJING. September 14. KAZINFORM. China is planning to build a new satellite launch site - the country's fourth - to boost its burgeoning space program, state media reported Sunday; Kazinform refers to Xinhua.
The facility will be located in Wenchang on the southern island province of Hainan, about 38 miles away from the provincial capital Haikou, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
The site is close to the equator which makes it well suited for launches because lower latitudes have stronger centrifugal forces, reducing the amount of energy required to launch rockets, Xinhua said.