ChinaStar 1

The Zhongwei 1 (Chinastar 1) satellite, an A2100A class comsat built by Lockheed Martin for the China Orient Telecommunications Satellite Co., part of the Chinese telecoms ministry. Zhongwei 1 will serve China, India, Korea, and Southeast Asia with 18 C-band and 20 Ku-band transponders. It was orbited on a CZ-3B launch vehicle using a supersynchronous transfer orbit. In 2010, the satellite was taken over by China Satcom and renamed ZX 5A (ChinaSat 5A). In 2013, APT and China Satcom struck an agreement under which APT would lease the satellite to prepare the market for the arrival of APStar 9 and move it to 142° east, where it has been renamed APStar 9A. The satellite was retired in June 2018 and moved to a graveyard orbit.