Tests on the second satellite have been completed and the satellite, a major cooperative project between China and Brazil, will be launched in the latter half of this year, according to sources from the Chinese Research Institute of Space Technology.
When the new satellite is sent into orbit, it will replace its predecessor, which has served out its two-year lifespan. Scientists are turning to the orbiting eyes in the sky for data collection on land resources, agriculture, deforestation and urban planning. Space Administration officials say the new satellite is technically similar to the old one, with only minor changes to ensure its reliability.
The first Earth Resources Satellite, the ZY-1, jointly developed by Chinese and Brazilian scientists, was put into orbit in October 1999. With a designed service life of two years, the high-resolution satellite has been working overtime. The image data it sent back have been widely used in over 20 departments of the State Council and more than 40 Chinese provinces and cities.
Both ZY-1 and the one to be launched belong to China's first-generation earth resources satellite. Chinese and Brazilian scientists will cooperate in developing the second-generation earth resources satellite after the launch of the second satellite this year.
(People's Daily July 13, 2002)
