Apstar 2 was a

communications satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth ...

based on the Hughes HS-601 spacecraft design, built by

Hughes Space and Communications Company Hughes may refer to: People * Hughes (surname) * Hughes (given name) Places Antarctica * Hughes Range (Antarctica), Ross Dependency * Mount Hughes, Oates Land * Hughes Basin, Oates Land * Hughes Bay, Graham Land * Hughes Bluff, Victoria L ...

for

APT Satellite Holdings APT Satellite Holdings Limited is a Bermuda-incorporated holding company. Its Hong Kong-incorporated subsidiary APT Satellite Co., Ltd. is the operator of the Apstar satellite constellation. APT Satellite Holdings and APT Satellite are headquarte ...

, a Hong-Kong based company. The satellite was intended to provide video, radio, data, and telephone services to about 2/3 of the world's population. It was launched on Jan. 26, 1995 by a

Long March 2E The Long March 2E, also known as the Chang Zheng 2E, CZ-2E and LM-2E, was a Chinese orbital carrier rocket from the Long March 2 family. The Long March 2E was a three-stage carrier rocket that was designed to launch commercial communications s ...

launcher from

Xichang Satellite Launch Center The Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC), also known as the Xichang Space Center, is a spaceport of China. It is located in Zeyuan Town (), approximately northwest of Xichang, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan. The facility bec ...

in China, but was destroyed 50 seconds after liftoff when the rocket exploded. The failed rocket also veered off course after launch and killed at least six people on the ground. The Hughes Failure Investigation Team found that excess vibration had caused a rocket fairing to fail due to a structural deficiency. However, the Chinese blamed the rocket-satellite interface for the failure. The two sides agreed that the fairing and the satellite interface would both be improved. The Long March 2E rocket would be retired at the end of 1995.

Political effects

The Apstar 2 failure investigation caused great political controversy in the United States. The export of satellite technology had previously been controlled by the

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...

under the

International Traffic in Arms Regulations International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) is a United States regulatory regime to restrict and control the export of defense and military related technologies to safeguard U.S. national security and further U.S. foreign policy objecti ...

, but it was being transferred to the Commerce Department under the

Export Administration Regulations The Export Administration Regulations (EAR) are a set of regulations found a15 C.F.R. § 730 ''et seq'' They are administered by the Bureau of Industry and Security, which is part of the US Commerce Department. The EAR regulates export and expo ...

. Hughes had received a license from the Commerce Department in 1993 to export the satellite temporarily to China for launch. Hughes also gave the Commerce Department a copy of the failure investigation report and received Commerce approval to export it to China. However, the Commerce Department had noted that some areas still required State Department approval, and Hughes lawyers had also questioned whether they needed a State Department license. The U.S. government launched an inquiry into the Apstar 2 and Intelsat 708 launch failure investigations. In 1998, the U.S. Congress reclassified satellite technology as a

munition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other wea ...

and returned it to the control of the State Department under the

. No export licenses to China have been issued since 1996, and an official at the

Bureau of Industry and Security The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce that deals with issues involving national security and high technology. A principal goal for the bureau is helping stop the proliferation of weapo ...

emphasized in 2016 that "no U.S.-origin content, regardless of significance, regardless of whether it’s incorporated into a foreign-made item, can go to China." The

Justice Department A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

launched a criminal investigation in 1999 of export violations by Hughes. In 2003, Boeing paid $32 million in fines to settle the case, having acquired Hughes in 2000.

References

External links

APSTARII
Communications satellites of China Spacecraft launched in 1995 Satellites using the BSS-601 bus 1995 in China Spacecraft launched by Long March rockets {{Communications-satellite-stub