On this day 37 years ago, on October 28, 1988 (September 18, 1988 lunar calendar), France launched the first satellite for live television. At 3:17 am Paris time on October 28, 1988, France's first satellite for live television was launched into the sky with an Ariane II rocket at the Kourou Space Center in French Guiana. According to the launch plan, the satellite will enter the "fixed point" 36,000 kilometers above the equator at 19 degrees west longitude of the earth after 24 days. French scientific and technological people believe that the successful launch of this satellite will mark "European television has entered a new century". The development plan of this satellite for live television was formulated by the French government in 1977, with a total investment of more than 2 billion francs. The satellite, weighing more than 2 tons, is 6.2 meters high, 19.3 meters wide when the solar panels on both sides are unfolded, and has a working life of 8-9 years. It has five TV channels and a transmission power of 230 watts, much more than the communication satellite currently in operation (its power is 20-50 watts). When it starts working, it can transmit TV programs from Portugal in western Europe to Ukraine in the Soviet Union in the east, from the Maghreb countries of North Africa to the British Isles. Television receivers in this vast area can receive satellite broadcasts with stereo sound and high-definition images as long as they are equipped with an antenna with a diameter of about 50 centimeters. At present, the five television channels on the satellite are leased to France 1, TV 4, TV 7, Radio France and Radio France International, as well as a West German television station. By then, about 400 million of European television viewers will be able to watch and listen to a wide variety of children's programmes, music and sports. The original annual rent for each channel was 120 million 130 million francs.