The second earth resource satellite, CBERS-2, developed jointly by Brazil and China, fulfilled its five years’ mission in orbit on Tuesday, the National Institute of Space Investigations of Brazil (INPE) said. CBERS-2 was launched on Oct. 21, 2003 by the Chinese Long March 4B rocket from Taiyuan launch facilities in China. Sample images from CBERS-2 were made available on Jan. 10, 2007.
It was the second satellite of the Chinese-Brazilian Earth Resource Satellite (CBERS) program, agreed by both countries 20 years ago to develop, launch and operate satellites together. The first satellite, CBERS-1, was launched on Oct. 14, 1999 and operated for four years till August 2003.
The agreement between the two countries foresees the launch of two other satellites, the CBERS-3 and CBERS-4, till 2013. CBERS is currently part of the main Earth-observing mission programs in the world, together with the U.S. Landsat, French Spotand Indian ResoruceSat.
Source: Xinhua News Agency