Hainan's first commercial satellite launched

A rendering of Wenchang Supercomputing 1 in-orbit operation [Photo/Hainan Daily]

Wenchang Supercomputing 1 was launched at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu province on Jan 21, carried by a Long March 11 rocket.

This is Hainan's first commercial satellite to be launched for the purpose of providing remote sensing information on the island province and the South China Sea area.

After entering orbit, the new model of multispectral satellite can quickly traverse huge areas of water and obtain detailed information in a short amount of time. It will provide great support for industries related to forestry, grasslands, shipping, oceans, resources, and the environment, and further promote the use of domestic ocean remote sensing information gathered via marine monitoring and marine resource exploration.

The satellite is predicted to complete its in-orbit test and be put into service by the end of March. It is expected to further enhance spatial and temporal resolutions of space data acquisition and continue transmitting information to the big data ground receiving station.

Research and development on Wenchang Supercomputing 1 finished on Dec 25, 2018, and the satellite entered the market on Jan 2.

Wenchang Supercomputing 1 is launched at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu province on Jan 21, carried by a Long March 11 rocket. [Photo/Xinhua]

The Long March 11 rocket used to carry Wenchang Supercomputing 1 [Photo/Hainan Daily]