China–Brazil Earth Resources Satellite 2B (CBERS-2B), also known as Ziyuan 1-2B, was a

remote sensing Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring information about Earth ...

satellite operated as part of the

China–Brazil Earth Resources Satellite program The China–Brazil Earth Resources Satellite program (CBERS) is a technological cooperation program between Brazil and China which develops and operates Earth observation satellites. History The basis for the space cooperation between China a ...

between the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

Center for Resources Satellite Data and Application and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian

National Institute for Space Research The National Institute for Space Research ( pt, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, INPE) is a research unit of the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations, the main goals of which are fostering scientific research an ...

. The third CBERS satellite to fly, it was launched by China in 2007 to replace

CBERS-2 China–Brazil Earth Resources Satellite 2 (CBERS-2), also known as Ziyuan I-02 or Ziyuan 1B, was a remote sensing satellite operated as part of the China–Brazil Earth Resources Satellite program between the Chinese Center for Resources Sate ...

Spacecraft

CBERS-2B was a spacecraft built by the

China Academy of Space Technology The China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) () is a Chinese space agency and subordinate of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). The agency was founded on 20 February 1968, and is the main spacecraft development and prod ...

and based on the Phoenix-Eye 1

satellite bus A satellite bus (or spacecraft bus) is the main body and structural component of a satellite or spacecraft, in which the payload and all scientific instruments are held. Bus-derived satellites are opposed to specially produced satellites. Bus-d ...

. The spacecraft was powered by a single solar array, which provided 1100 watts of electricity for the satellite's systems. The 1.8 m x 2.0 m x 2.2 m, triaxially-stabilized spacecraft carries a low 20 m resolution, and a higher 2.5 m resolution camera. The data help in crop estimation,

urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

water resource management Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. 97% of the water on the Earth is Saline water, salt water and only three percent is fresh ...

, and

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

. The instrument suite aboard the CBERS-2B spacecraft consisted of three systems: * Wide Field Imager (WFI) produced visible-light to near-infrared images with a resolution of and a swath width of . * High-resolution CCD camera was used for multispectral imaging at a resolution of with a swath width of . * High Resolution Camera (HRC) was a panchromatic imager with a resolution of and a swath width of . The HRC replaced the lower-resolution Infrared Multispectral Scanner instrument flown on earlier CBERS satellites.

Launch

Long March 4B The Long March 4B (), also known as the Chang Zheng 4B, CZ-4B and LM-4B is a Chinese expendable orbital Launch vehicle. Launched from Launch Complex 1 at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, it is a 3-stage launch vehicle, used mostly to place ...

carrier rocket A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload (spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pad, launch pads, supported by a missile launch contro ...

, operated by the

China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) is a major state-owned civilian and military space launch vehicle manufacturer in China and one of the major launch service providers in the world. CALT is a subsidiary of the larger China Ae ...

(CALT), was used to launch CBERS-2B. The launch took place at 03:26:13 UTC on 19 September 2007, using Launch Complex 7 at the

Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center (TSLC) also known as ''Base 25'' (), is a People's Republic of China space and defense launch facility (spaceport). It is situated in Kelan County, Xinzhou, Shanxi Province and is the second of four launch ...

(TLSC). The satellite was successfully placed into a

sun-synchronous orbit A Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), also called a heliosynchronous orbit, is a nearly polar orbit around a planet, in which the satellite passes over any given point of the planet's surface at the same local mean solar time. More technically, it is ...

Last contact

The CBERS-2B spacecraft suffered a power system failure on 10 May 2010, leaving it unable to continue operations. It remains in orbit.

References

{{Ziyuan Spacecraft launched in 2007 China–Brazil Earth Resources Satellite program Derelict satellites orbiting Earth Earth observation satellites of Brazil Satellites of China 2007 in China Spacecraft launched by Long March rockets