CBERS-4
China–Brazil Earth Resources Satellite 4, also known as Ziyuan I-04 or Ziyuan 1E, is a remote sensing satellite intended for operation as part of the China–Brazil [Earth Resources Satellite program] between the Chinese Center for Resources Satellite Data and [Application of People's Republic of China|Center for Resources Satellite Data and Application] and Brazilian National Institute for Space Research. The fifth CBERS satellite to fly, it was successfully launched on 7 December 2014. It replaces CBERS-3 which was lost in a launch failure in December 2013.
Spacecraft
CBERS-4 is a spacecraft based on the Phoenix-Eye 1 satellite bus. It was developed by the China Academy of Space Technology, in partnership with Brazil, at a cost of US$125 million for each party. The spacecraft have a single solar array which provides power to its systems, generating 2,300 watts of electrical power, and have a design life of three years.The CBERS-4 spacecraft carries four instruments: MUXCam, a multispectral camera; PanMUX, a panchromatic imager; the Infrared Medium Resolution Scanner, or IRSCAM, and WFICAM, a wide-field imaging camera. These cameras will be used to observe a swath of of landmass at a time, enabling the satellite to scan the entire surface of the planet every 26 days, with a spatial resolution of up to.
CBERS-4 was initially scheduled to be launched in 2015, however after the loss of CBERS-3 at launch in December 2013, China and Brazil agreed to accelerate the production of CBERS-4 by 1 year. The satellite will restore the Brazilian government's ability to observe its own territory following a 4.5-year gap caused by the failure of CBERS-2B and CBERS-3.