BEIJING, April 21(Xinhuanet)-- The China Satellite Communications Corporation signed a 100-million-euro deal here Thursday with French company Alcatel Space to buy a powerful communications and live radio and TV broadcast satellite from the French firm.

Pascale Sourisse, chairwoman of the board of the French firm, said the satellite, known as"ChinaSat 9" Direct Broadcast Satellite, will be fitted with 22 Ku band transponder, allowing easy reception of television programs across China.

Zhang Hainan, president of the Chinese firm, said the satellitewill be used for the live TV broadcast of sports programs during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The signals beamed from the satellite will cover the whole of China, which means remote areas in China where people still cannotreceive TV signals will be able to watch television programs afterits scheduled launch in mid-2007 atop a Chinese-made rocket, said Zhang.

With a satellite dish of 0.45 meters to 0.6 meters in diameter,the satellite will be capable of relaying 150 to 200 different programs with standard and high definition resolution, said the Chinese firm.

According to the contract signed by Zhang and Pascale Sourisse,the satellite will be 4,500 kg in weight at the time of launch scheduled for around July of 2007 with a power capacity of 11,000 watts and a life span of 15 years.

Alcatel will also be responsible for making the satellite compatible with the Chinese rocket, orbital positioning and in-orbit testing as well as offering its Chinese partner a satellite simulator, according to the deal.

Sourisse said the latest deal, together with the successful launch of Alcatel-made APstar VI on April 12 by a Long March 3B rocket from China, indicates the cooperation between Alcatel and China in the field of satellites is entering a more prosperous stage.

Alcatel began its cooperation in 1984 by providing parts for a Chinese satellite, and it sold a whole satellite, SINOSAT 1 satellite, in 1998 to the China Academy of Space Technology(CAST),which was launched in July 1998 and is still in service.

Investment by Alcatel in China has now totaled about 1 billion US dollars, involving telecommunications, space, and urban transport automation.

Alcatel Space, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alcatel, is the world's third largest satellite manufacturer and the largest in Europe. Enditem