Photo: official Wechat account of PIESAT

China's largest commercial radar remote sensing satellite constellation, the Nuwa constellation, began its large-scale application late Monday, which composes of 12 commercial radar remote sensing satellites that provide high-resolution Earth observation images for disaster relief, agricultural monitoring, marine observation, energy development, among others, the Global Times learned on Tuesday from the developer PIESAT, a Beijing-based satellite firm. 

The announcement came after four PIESAT-2 satellites, which were launched into a 528-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit last week, were calibrated and successfully transmitted high-resolution images and data back to Earth, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

The constellation Nuwa is named after the Chinese goddess known as the creator of humanity. It consists of 12 satellites, including eight PIESAT-2 commercial radar remote sensing satellites that have been sent into space in two batches using the Long March 2D carrier rocket on November 9 and December 17, 2024, and four PIESAT-1 satellites launched and operating in orbit since March 30, 2023.

One of the highlights of the Nuwa constellation is its clarity. According to chairman of PIESAT Wang Yuxiang, the 12 commercial radar remote sensing satellites act like "eyes in the sky." They're capable of penetrating clouds and rain, providing all-weather, all-time Earth observation and collecting high-resolution images with a resolution of up to 1 meter, he said.

The constellation is also featured by its wide coverage. Nuwa's in-orbit satellites are arranged in three groups - the first group forms a wheel-like configuration, with a main satellite acting as a "hub," surrounded by three auxiliary satellites evenly distributed. The second and the third groups, launched recently, are organized in four-satellite, co-orbital, wheel-like formations. This enabled global coverage for Earth remote sensing observations, the Global Times has learned. 

Another advantage of Nuwa is its high efficiency, Wang said, noting their independently developed satellite equipment aims to achieve real-time remote sensing observation capabilities, with rapid response and agile observation. "It takes less than an hour from issuing commands from the ground to the satellite to data transmission back to the ground," Wang explained, adding that by utilizing big data processing and artificial intelligence technologies, the efficiency of image analysis within the constellation has also been further enhanced.

So far, the images and data collected by the Nuwa constellation have played an important role in major natural disaster rescue operations, such as the breach of the Dongting Lake levee in Huarong county, Central China's Hunan Province.

By the end of 2025, the Nuwa constellation will form a network of at least 20 satellites, further enhancing satellite response capabilities and providing faster and more efficient information services, Wang said. These high-resolution images and data are expected to have greater applications in emergency disaster reduction, flood prevention and rescue, and natural resource supervision.

In a statement sent to the Global Times on Tuesday, the company outlined its plans for building the country's largest commercial radar remote sensing constellation, with plans to launch a total of 114 remote sensing satellites. 

The first phase of the project plans to launch 54 satellites, including 44 radar remote sensing satellites and 10 optical remote sensing satellites. After the first phase is launched and networked, it will achieve global revisit capabilities within one hour and sub-meter level Earth observation capabilities in all weather conditions, significantly enhancing China's satellite remote sensing data acquisition capabilities. 

The second phase will continue to expand the constellation's scale, with preliminary plans to develop 60 medium and low Earth orbit remote sensing satellites, integrating satellite communication and navigation enhancement capabilities to achieve global revisit times in minutes and integrated "communication and navigation" services, enabling real-time connectivity between space and Earth. 

After the second phase is launched and networked, the overall capabilities of the Nuwa constellation will reach a world-leading level, the company said.