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China sends record 41 satellites to join Jilin-1 hi-res constellation

  • The launch brings the total in orbit to 108, with plans to have 300 by 2025, offering daily close-up imaging of the Earth’s surface
  • Most of the batch were the latest generation Gaofen 06A satellites, at a fraction of the weight and cost of their predecessors

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A Long March rocket blasts off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in northern China carrying 41 satellites into orbit. Photo: Xinhua
Ling Xinin Beijing
China sent 41 satellites into orbit last week to join what is already the world’s largest satellite constellation for high-resolution observations of the Earth.

The launch, at 1.30pm Beijing time on Thursday, set a national record for the most satellites lifted in one go and also brought the number of Jilin-1 satellites operating in orbit to 108.

Within two minutes of its departure from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in northern China, the Long March 4D carrier rocket reached an altitude of 500km (310 miles) and released the satellites, state news agency Xinhua said.

From their initial sun-synchronous orbit, the latest batch joined the existing 72 Jilin-1 satellites to provide imaging for services from land resources surveys to smart city buildings, at spatial resolutions better than 75cm (30 inches).

He Xiaojun from Chang Guang Satellite Technology, which has been manufacturing and operating the satellites since 2015, said the company was pushing ahead with construction of the Jilin-1 constellation.

“By the end of this year, we expect to have 138 satellites in the constellation and provide 10-minute global revisit times,” He told state-owned Science and Technology Daily on Thursday.

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