China Launches 2 Military Satellites, 1 High-res Remote Sensing spacecraft in Single Launch

China today launched two military satellites, along with a high resolution optical remote-sensing satellite aboard a Long March-2D carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 10:27 a.m. Sunday (Beijing Time).

 Of the military satellites, one named Tiantuo-5 and developed by the National University of Defense Technology will test and verify data collection technologies for ships, aircraft, buoys and the Internet of things, the Chinese military’s official news website announced.

The second military satellite, a multifunctional test satellite developed by the Academy of Military Sciences and will test and verify technologies such as communication, navigation and remote sensing in orbit.

The optical remote-sensing satellite, called as Gaofen-9 05 has a resolution up to the sub-meter level. It will be mainly used for land surveys, city planning, land right confirmation, road network design, crop yield estimation and disaster prevention and mitigation.

It will also provide information for the Belt and Road construction.

Sunday's launch was the 343rd successful mission of the Long March rocket series.