China's first all-electric propulsion telecommunication satellite officially commenced operational services on Monday following an in-orbit and ground system technical review in Hong Kong, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the satellite's developer.

The APSTAR-6E satellite, a geostationary orbit satellite based on the DFH-3E satellite platform, has a designed lifespan of 15 years.

As the inaugural satellite of the DFH-3E series, it is the world's first telecommunication satellite to achieve fully autonomous orbit transfer from low Earth orbit to geostationary orbit, CASC reported.

The satellite was launched by a Long March-2C carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on January 13, 2023. After separating from its independent propulsion module, the satellite was transferred to the synchronous orbit by its two electric propulsion systems.

It is primarily used to provide cost-effective, high-throughput broadband communication services for the Southeast Asia region.