China launches new remote-sensing satellite
Xinhua, 2019 November 13 Wednesday
China sent a new remote sensing satellite into planned orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Wednesday.
The Jilin-1 Gaofen 02A, which belongs to the Jilin-1 satellite family, was launched by Kuaizhou-1A (KZ-1A), a carrier rocket at 11:40 a.m. (Beijing Time).
KZ-1A is a low-cost solid-fuel carrier rocket with high reliability and a short preparation period. The rocket, developed by a company under the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, is mainly used to launch low-orbit microsatellites.
Wednesday’s launch was the second mission of the KZ-1A rocket in 2019. It had previously completed three commercial launches from January 2017 to August 2019.
The Jilin-1 Gaofen 02A satellite is a new optical remote sensing satellite independently developed by Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co., Ltd., featuring high resolution, wide width and high-speed data transmission.
It will form a network with 13 previously launched Jilin-1 satellites, providing remote sensing data and services in fields like agriculture, forestry, resource and environment.
