China has made the first space launch of the year and he has opened a new series of satellites dedicated to Earth observation for civil tasks. The Ziyuan-3A (ZY-3A) departed from the base of Taiyuan at 3:17 UTC on January 9, aboard a CZ-4B rocket. Although not many details of its configuration, the ZY-3, of 2,630 kg, carrying three cameras, high-resolution geologic mapping tasks. These panchromatic cameras that are accompanied by other multispectral infrared range.

As the satellite advances along its polar sun-synchronous orbit, about 500 km altitude, you can see almost any area of ​​the surface. A central chamber photograph what lies immediately below the path, with a resolution of about 2.1 meters. The other two optical cameras, one front and one behind, will do the same show, with a resolution of up to 3.5 meters, the front and rear landscape found in the vehicle. Continue reading →