Ziyuan 3-01

Ziyuan 3-01 or ZY 3-01 is a Chinese Earth observation satellite launched in January 2012. It is a high-resolution imaging satellite operated by the Ministry of Land and Resources of the [People's Republic of China].

Spacecraft

The Ziyuan 3 satellite was constructed by the China's China Academy of Space Technology, and carries three cameras produced by the Changchun [Institute of Optics, Fine Machinery and Physics]. A camera aligned normal to the Earth's surface will produce images with a spatial resolution of, whilst the other two, offset at 22° forward and aft, have spatial resolutions of. In addition to the three cameras, Ziyuan-3 carries an infrared multispectral spectrometer, with a spectral resolution of. The satellite is used to provide imagery to monitor resources, land use and ecology, and for use in urban planning and disaster management. It had a mass at launch of. The satellite has a planned operational lifetime of 4 years with a possible extension to 5 years.

Ziyuan 3 was launched by a Long March 4B carrier rocket, flying from Launch Complex 9 at the Taiyuan [Satellite Launch Center]. The launch occurred at 03:17:00 UTC on 9 January 2012, and was the first orbital launch of the year. VesselSat-2 was launched as a secondary payload on the same rocket.