China launched an Earth observation satellite July 30, seeing the country equal its record for launches in a calendar year with 22.
According to Space News, a three-stage Long March 4B lifted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern China at 11:00 p.m. Eastern Monday, carrying the Gaofen-11 satellite into a Sun-synchronous orbit.
The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the main contractor for the space program, confirmed both the launch and its success just over half an hour after liftoff.
Gaofen-11, a sub-meter resolution optical satellite, will become part of the China High-resolution Earth Observation System (CHEOS), initiated in 2010 to provide all-weather, all-day coverage by 2020 with optical and synthetic aperture radar satellites, and could also include airborne and near-space systems such as stratospheric balloons.
Gaofen-11 was developed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), a spacecraft and satellite maker under CASC, but few details on its capabilities have been released.
Chinese state media report that the Gaofen-11 satellite will be used for land surveys, urban planning, road network design, agriculture, and disaster relief, while its data will also be used for the country’s Belt and Road international trade and infrastructure initiative.
The satellite is the sixth in the Gaofen series launched this year, following a triplet of Gaofen-1 satellites, and the larger Gaofen-5 and -6, all placed in Sun-synchronous orbits. The series, which means “high resolution” in Chinese, also includes one geosynchronous satellite, Gaofen-4, launched in 2015. Gaofen-7 could also be launched to SSO before the end of the year.
The Gaofen-11 launch was the 63rd launch worldwide in 2018 and also sees China draw level with its record of 22 launches, set in 2016, which included one failure and another partial failure. The failure in August 2016 prevented the Gaofen-10 satellite from reaching orbit due to an issue with the third stage of the Long March 4C rocket.
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