Jilin-1 () is China's first self-developed commercial
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 Eart ...
satellite system. The satellites are operated by
Chang Guang Satellite Technology Corporation and named after
Jilin Province
Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea ( Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...
where the company is headquartered. The first set of satellites were launched by
Long March 2D
The Long March 2D (), also known as the Chang Zheng 2D, CZ-2D and LM-2D, is a Chinese two-stage orbital carrier rocket mainly used for launching LEO and SSO satellites. It is manufactured by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology ( ...
in
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC; also known as Shuangchengzi Missile Test Center; Launch Complex B2; formally Northwest Comprehensive Missile Testing Facility (); Base 20; 63600 Unit) is a Chinese space vehicle launch facility ( sp ...
on 7 October 2015, at 04:13
UTC. All launched Jilin-1 satellites are in
sun-synchronous orbit (SSO).
As of 9 December 2022, there were a total of 23 launches of Jilin-1, and 83 satellites in orbit. Chang Guang originally planned to launch 138 total satellites by the year 2025, but expanded its goal in 2022 to 300 satellites
Jilin-1 is the largest Chinese commercial satellite constellation in orbit and has enjoyed generous funding since the Chinese government opened satellite imagery to private ventures.
Chang Guang received $375 million (
USD
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
) of funding for the Jilin-1 program in November 2020.
Satellites
Video satellites
The Jilin-1 series of satellites includes eight 'Jilin-1 Smart Video Satellites' also written as 'Shipin' ().
First launched in the Jilin-1 series' inaugural 2015 launch, eight Jilin-1 smart video satellites provide
4K high definition (HD) earth observation color video imagery from
sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) with a revisit time (
orbital period
The orbital period (also revolution period) is the amount of time a given astronomical object takes to complete one orbit around another object. In astronomy, it usually applies to planets or asteroids orbiting the Sun, moons orbiting planets ...
) of 3.3 days, and a five-year system
life expectancy
Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time an organism is expected to live, based on the year of its birth, current age, and other demographic factors like sex. The most commonly used measure is life expectancy at birth ...
.
The reported applications of these smart video satellites range from
disaster response
Disaster response is the second phase of the disaster management cycle. It consists of a number of elements, for example; warning/evacuation, search and rescue, providing immediate assistance, assessing damage, continuing assistance and the immed ...
and economic monitoring to
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
and
national intelligence collection.
These satellites use a gaze imaging pattern, use three-axis stabilization, record full-color video between 437–720
nanometers
330px, Different lengths as in respect to the molecular scale.
The nanometre (international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: nm) or nanometer (American and British English spelling differences#-re ...
(using a
Bayer filter
A Bayer filter mosaic is a color filter array (CFA) for arranging RGB color filters on a square grid of photosensors. Its particular arrangement of color filters is used in most single-chip digital image sensors used in digital cameras, cam ...
), weigh between 225–235 kilograms, and are 1230x642x2104
millimeters
330px, Different lengths as in respect to the electromagnetic spectrum, measured by the metre and its derived scales. The microwave is between 1 meter to 1 millimeter.
The millimetre (American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, ...
in size.
Three separate generations of Jilin-1 smart video satellites have been designed and launched with the first generation (01 and 02) launched on 7 October 2015, the second generation (one satellite, 03) launched on 9 January 2017, and the third generation (04–08) launched on both 21 November 2017 and 19 January 2018.
Satellites of the second generation of Jilin-1 smart video constellation feature updates to
orbital propulsion, computer, power supply, and
data transmission
Data transmission and data reception or, more broadly, data communication or digital communications is the transfer and reception of data in the form of a digital bitstream or a digitized analog signal transmitted over a point-to-point o ...
systems, based on feedback from first-generation users.
It is unclear which upgrades took place between the second and third generations.
Jilin-1 video satellites have been used for supervising the 2013–2017 construction of
Saparmurat Turkmenbashy Olympic Stadium
Saparmurat Turkmenbashy Olympic Stadium ( tk, Saparmyrat Türkmenbaşy adyndaky Olimpiýa Stadiony) is a multi-purpose stadium in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, that stood on the site now occupied by the new Olympic Stadium, built between 2013 and 2017. ...
in
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
, recording taxiing aircraft at
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, monitoring forest fire spread along the
Sino-Russian border, and recording the launch of a OneSpace suborbital rocket.
Jilin-1 drew domestic and international attention after Chang Guang released video from a Jilin-1 smart video satellite purporting to show a traveling
Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor
The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an American single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). As the result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, th ...
of the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
.
Other satellites
Other satellites of the Jilin-1 program include a single LQSat verification satellite, the Optical-A () satellite, two hyperspectral imaging (HSI) satellites (), sixty-one high-resolution panchromatic (PAN) and multispectral imaging (MSI) satellites (, not to be confused with the separate
Gaofen program), three wide-band imaging satellites (), and one successfully launched imaging satellite ( or '
Rubik's Cube').
List of satellites
See also
*
Yaogan
Yaogan () is the cover name used by the People's Republic of China to refer to its military reconnaissance satellites. Yaogan satellites are largely known to primarily support the People's Liberation Army's Strategic Support Force (PLASSF), fo ...
*
Fanhui Shi Weixing
The Fanhui Shi Weixing () series of satellites was China's first reconnaissance satellite program. The satellites were used for military reconnaissance and civilian imagery tasks and completed 23 missions between November 1974 and April 2016. The ...
*
Gaofen
References
{{Reflist, 2
Earth observation satellites of China
Commercial Earth imaging satellites
Satellite series