China Builds And Launches A Satellite For Nigeria – Edward Cody

From the Washington Post:

China announced Monday that it had launched a Chinese-manufactured communications satellite into orbit on behalf of Nigeria, marking the first time China has built a commercial satellite and put it into orbit on contract for another country.

The launch, in Monday’s pre-dawn hours from the Xichang space center in southwestern Sichuan province, was viewed as another sign of China’s increasing prowess in space and its determination to be among the world’s great powers seeking to utilize the reaches of outer space for benefits on Earth. [Full text]