Article Posted on : - Jan 09, 2012

The Ziyuan III satellite being launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre. Photo:Xinhua.

BEIJING (BNS): China on Monday successfully launched a high-resolution remote sensing Ziyuan III satellite.

The satellite was launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre at 11:17 am aboard a Long March 4B rocket, Chinese news agency Xinhua said.

ZiYuan-3 weighing 2650 kg, entered an orbit of 500 km above the Earth about 12 minutes after it was launched, according to the report. The rocket also carried a satellite from Luxemburg.

The new satellite will conduct surveys on land resources, help with natural disaster-reduction and prevention and lend assistance to farming, water conservation, urban planning and other sectors.

The ZiYuan-3 (ZY-3) is the first of a new series of high-resolution civilian remote sensing satellites, grown from a project that was initiated in March 2008.

The satellite carries three high-resolution panchromatic cameras and an infrared multispectral scanner (IRMSS). Operational period will be four years with a possible life extension to five years, according to reports.

The orbiter was developed and produced by the China Academy of Space Technology, a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).

The Long March 4B rocket is developed by Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, another CASC subsidiary.