China sent a resource satellite and two small satellites into planned orbits from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north ChinaтАЩs Shanxi Province on Thursday, as per media sources. They were launched on a Long March-4B carrier rocket at 11:26 a.m. (Beijing Time).
The resource satellite, ZY-1 02D, will provide observation data for natural resources asset management, ecological monitoring, disaster prevention and control, environmental protection, urban construction, transportation and contingency management. One of the two small satellites launched on the same rocket belongs to Beijing Normal University, and is named BNU-1, and the other belongs to a Shanghai-based private space technology company. With an expected lifespan of five years, ZY-1 02D will form a network with more satellites to follow.
It will work in the solar synchronous orbit at 778 km above the earth. It carries a near-infrared camera with a coverage width of 115 km, enabling it to observe large and medium-sized cities, and be used for urban planning, said the satelliteтАЩs project manager Li Yifan.
It also carries a 166-band hyperspectral camera that can produce 166 pictures with different color bands simultaneously. The camera can capture the reflected light information of various minerals, and be used to analyze complicated mineral compositions and distribution, said Li.
China launches 1 resource and 2 small satelites into planned orbits from Shanxi province
