China has launched the first of a new series of high-resolution civilian remote sensing satellites, Ziyuan III, onboard the Long March 4B (Chang Zheng-4B -Y26) launch vehicle from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre (TSLA) in northern Shanxi province.

The 2,650kg, high-resolution geological mapping satellite has a designed life span of five years. The new satellite is equipped with three high-resolution panchromatic cameras that are positioned at the front-facing, ground-facing and rear-facing positions and an infrared multispectral scanner (IRMSS). The satellite is also equipped with two 3m-long solar arrays to generate power and will orbit at a 505.984km sun-synchronous solar orbit with a 97.421° inclination.

Ziyuan III will be used to conduct land resource surveys, help with natural disaster-reduction and prevention, and lend assistance to farming, water conservation, urban planning and other sectors, with the ability to survey the area between 84° north and 84° south latitude.

The China Academy of Space Technology, a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), developed and produced the orbiter. The Long March 4B rocket was developed by Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, another CASC subsidiary, and the current launch marked the 156th flight of China’s Long March series of carrier rockets.

The 45.80m-long, 249,000kg, 4B rocket is capable of launching a 2,800kg satellite into low Earth orbit and can develop 2,971kN at launch. China has also launched its 28kg VesselSat-2 microsatellite, along with the ZY-3, which will be further incorporated into ORBCOMM’s next-generation (OG2) constellation of 18 AIS-enabled satellites after an in-orbit test and checkout phase.