China launches new remote-sensing satellites

A Long March-11 carrier rocket carrying five new remote-sensing satellites blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu Province, Sept, 19, 2019. Five new remote-sensing satellites were sent into planned orbit on Thursday. The satellites belong to a commercial remote-sensing satellite constellation project "Zhuhai-1," which will comprise 34 micro-nano satellites. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)

JIUQUAN, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Five new remote-sensing satellites were sent into planned orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gobi Desert Thursday.

The five satellites were launched by a Long March-11 carrier rocket at 2:42 p.m. (Beijing Time).

The satellites belong to a commercial remote-sensing satellite constellation project "Zhuhai-1," which will comprise 34 micro-nano satellites, including video, hyperspectral, and high-resolution optical satellites, as well as radar and infrared satellites.

The carrier rocket was developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, and the satellites were produced by the Harbin Institute of Technology and operated by the Zhuhai Orbita Aerospace Science and Technology Co. Ltd.

Thursday's launch was the 311th mission for the Long March series carrier rockets.

The newly launched satellites comprise four hyperspectral satellites with 256 wave-bands and a coverage width of 150 km, and a video satellite with a resolution of 90 centimeters.

The Zhuhai-1 hyperspectral satellites have the highest spatial resolution and the largest coverage width of their type in China.

The data will be used for precise quantitative analysis of vegetation, water and crops, and will provide services for building smart cities, said Orbita, the largest private operator of hyperspectral satellites in orbit.

The company aims to cooperate with government organizations and enterprises to expand the big data satellite services.