CHINA / SOCIETY
Nation to launch satellite able to carry multiple payloads
Published: Oct 09, 2024 10:53 PM
A departure ceremony for the Jilin-1 platform 02A03 satellite is held in the Jilin Aerospace Information Industrial Park in Changchun, Northeast China's Jilin Province on Octoer 9, 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Changguang Satellite Technology

A departure ceremony for the "Jilin-1" platform 02A03 satellite is held in the Jilin Aerospace Information Industrial Park in Changchun, Northeast China's Jilin Province on Octoer 9, 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Changguang Satellite Technology


Chinese remote-sensing commercial satellite manufacturer Changguang Satellite Technology is scheduled to launch its "Jilin-1" platform 02A03 satellite in October at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, which is capable of supporting multiple payloads, the Global Times learnt from the satellite manufacturer on Wednesday.

A departure ceremony for the "Jilin-1" platform 02A03 satellite was held in the Jilin Aerospace Information Industrial Park in Changchun, Northeast China's Jilin Province on Wednesday. 

The satellite is a low-cost, high-capacity, high-resolution shared remote sensing satellite developed independently by Changguang Satellite Technology, China's first commercial remote sensing satellite company.

Different from traditional satellite platforms, the satellite possesses independent business capabilities. 

By providing payload services and sharing satellite platform resources with multiple users, this satellite helps to distribute satellite launching costs, according to the satellite manufacturer. 

The main payload of the satellite is a lightweight optical remote sensing camera, which can provide users with high-resolution remote sensing images with a resolution of 0.75 meter and a frame width of over 17 kilometers. 

The satellite is also equipped with a supercomputing micro-system called "Tianzhi" developed by the Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

It also includes a reflective snapshot compression hyperspectral remote sensing payload, developed by Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and a GRID-11B payload that can observe gamma-ray bursts for a 24-hour on-orbit period, Changguang Satellite Technology said.

Currently, Changguang Satellite Technology has successfully realized 115 "Jilin-1" satellites in orbit, making it the world's largest sub meter commercial remote sensing satellite constellation. It has also become an important global source of space remote sensing information, according to media reports. 

The Jilin-1 satellite series has undergone four major technological breakthroughs, reducing the satellite weight from 400 kilograms to 20 kilograms and cutting costs to one-twentieth of their original level, Jilin Daily reported in September.