China launched Gaofen-4 dual-use geostationary satellite

China on 29 December 2015 successfully launched Gaofen-4 Earth observation satellite toward a geostationary orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in the south-western province of Sichuan. The Satellite was launched aboard a Long March-3B carrier rocket.

Launched as a part of the China High-resolution Earth Observation System (CHEOS), Gaofen-4 is located at the orbit 36000 kilometres away from the earth and moves synchronously with the earth.

Highlights of the Gaofen-4
• It can see an oil tanker on the sea with a huge CMOS camera, reaching the best imaging level among global high-orbit remote sensing satellites.
• It will be used for disaster prevention and relief, surveillance of geological disasters and forest disasters, and meteorologic forecast.
• It will offer optical spatial resolution of better than 50 metres and infrared sensing capabilities from geostationary orbit.
• It is designed to operate for eight years at an altitude of almost 36000 km above the Earth.

The satellite was launched as a part of Gaofen project that aims to launch seven high-definition observation satellites before 2020. Gaofen-1, the first satellite of the project, was launched in April 2013.

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