China successfully launched the EarthScanner-2 satellite (InnerMongolia-1 satellite) at 10:51 Beijing time on 03 July 2021 with the Long March 2D rocket at the Taiyuan Satellite launch center. In addition, three Jilin satellites at 1m resolution as part of the DailyVision constellation were also successfully launched in the same rocket.
The EarthScanner-2 Satellite; The World’s Largest Swath Satellite at Submeter Resolution
The EarthScanner-2 satellite was developed with the heritage of EarthScanner-1 (JL1-KF01A) by Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co Ltd. (CGSTL), the strategic partner of HEAD Aerospace. The EarthScanner-1 satellite, launched in 2020, is the widest swath satellite in the commercial market, offering optical imagery at 50cm resolution, 136km swath with 1.2 million square kilometers of daily imaging capacity. The extra swath of EarthScanner-2 satellite reached another technology innovation offering 50cm resolution optical imagery with 150km swath, collecting 2 million square kilometers of imagery per day. The satellite has a high-speed phased array digital transmission antenna, and the data transmission speed can reach 3 Gbps with onboard storage exceeding 40Tbit.
Large-Area Very High-Resolution Mapping – the two EarthScanner satellites are ideal for defense & intelligence, planning and monitoring critical infrastructure, including utility transmission grids and transportation networks, or disaster management can be performed for entire states, countries, and regions. Up to 40.000 square kilometers coverage is possible with the extra wide-swath (150km and 136 km) captured at a half-meter spatial resolution on a single pass, a unique capability in the world.
Intradaily revisits, with three more satellites at 1m resolution – the three Jilin satellites (“Xue-Er-Si” satellite, JL1-GF03D02 & JL1-GF03D03), developed by CGSTL, are part of the DailyVision constellation of 138 submeter satellites enabling imaging anywhere on Earth every 15 minutes from 09:00 to 17:00. These three satellites at 40kg have a push-broom camera offering optical imagery at better than 1m resolution with a 17km swath. A high-resolution revisit schedule of four times per day is currently possible, with a 15-minute revisit between 09:00 and 13:30 anywhere on Earth to be possible by the end of 2021. With now 29 Jilin satellites in orbit, the constellation is expected to consist of 57 satellites in orbit end of 2021 and 138 satellites by 2025, providing the highest temporal resolution globally.
HEAD offers access to more than 45 civilian and commercial satellites, including the Jilin constellation, as part of its integrated offer through its HEADFinder online archive portal. The successful launch of these four Jilin satellites has further increased the satellite portfolio of HEAD, with 31 satellites offering sub-meter resolution satellite imagery.
ABOUT HEAD Aerospace
HEAD Aerospace is a one-stop-shop service provider with integrated access from multiple Earth observation satellite constellations to complex turnkey geospatial solutions. A global network of 100 partners access HEAD’s centralized geodata hub of satellite imagery collected from more than 45 on-orbit satellites. Distinguished satellite attributes allow the end-user to develop diversified applications. Early morning tasking to be the first one to observe the world. Nighttime imaging to see what is happening at night. One single image capturing the entire country. Direct receiving station for near real-time monitoring. In addition to the Earth observation and geospatial business unit, HEAD operates its own Space-based Internet-of-Things (IoT) constellation with five on-orbit satellites as part of the 48 satellites constellation plan in 2023.