China’s latest Gaofen satellite launched

April 8, 2022

BEIJING – The Gaofen 3C radar satellite was launched on Thursday morning, according to the China National Space Administration.

It was lifted into orbit on a Long March 4C rocket that blasted off at 7:47 am from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China and contains a C-band synthetic aptitude radar with a ground image resolution of 1 meter, the administration said in a statement.

The satellite will join its predecessors — Gaofen 3A and 3B — to create a radar satellite network for observing specific land and sea areas.

Gaofen 3A was launched in August 2016 and Gaofen 3B was deployed in November 2021.

Developed by the China Academy of Space Technology, a subsidiary of the State-owned conglomerate China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the network will protect China’s maritime interests, prevent and mitigate maritime disasters and enable researchers to better study the marine environment. It will also be used in environmental protection, water conservancy, agriculture and meteorology.

Long March 4C was built by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, another CASC subsidiary.

With a liftoff weight of 250 metric tons, the rocket is mainly used to send satellites to sun-synchronous orbit. It is capable of transporting satellites with a combined weight of 3 metric tons to orbit 700 kilometers above the earth.

China launched the Gaofen program in May 2010 and listed it as one of its 16 important national projects in science and technology. The program has established a space-based, high-resolution Earth observation network with dozens of Gaofen satellites in service.

Images and data from have been widely used in more than 20 industries and have helped reduce the country’s dependence on foreign remote-sensing services, the space administration said.