Issue 55

14 Aug 2022: According to Li Deren, a leading Chinese remote-sensing scientist, China has invested ¥50 billion in the China High-resolution Earth Observation System (Gaofen) program and the resolution of civil and military use has reached 0.3m and 0.1m respectively. Li presented a slide that explicitly described Gaofen-8 through Gaofen-14 as “military satellites.”

Gaofen series review: GF-1 launched Apr 2013 with 2m panchromatic and 8m multispectral cameras. GF-2 launched Aug 2014 with panchromatic/multispectral cameras, including sub-meter panchromatic performance.

GF-3 launched Aug 2016 with C-band multi-polarization synthetic aperture radar. GF-4 launched Dec 2015 as a GEO imaging satellite with visible and near-infrared staring cameras. GF-5 launched May 2018 as part of an environmental-monitoring series.

GF-6 launched Jun 2018 with high-resolution cameras similar to GF-1. GF-7 launched Nov 2019 with dual-linear-array imaging, multispectral imaging, a laser altimeter and footprint camera.

GF-8 launched Jun 2015 as a high-resolution optical satellite developed by CASC. GF-9 consists of five satellites launched from 2014 through 2020 and is described as providing sub-meter-class optical imagery.

GF-10 launched unsuccessfully in Aug 2016 and again in Oct 2019; its exact nature is not publicly known. GF-11 satellites launched in 2016, 2020 and 2021 and are believed to be high-resolution optical Earth-observation spacecraft with the military designation JianBing 16. See previous FFF coverage.

GF-12 satellites launched in Nov 2019, Mar 2021 and Jun 2022 and are believed to use high-resolution SAR with ground resolution up to the sub-meter level. GF-13, launched Nov 2020, is suspected to be an improved GF-4 GEO imager, likely around 15m resolution.

GF-14 launched Jun 2020 and is described as an optical stereo-mapping satellite capable of generating high-precision stereo imagery, large-scale digital topographic maps, elevation models, surface models and orthophotos.

For deeper background, the issue points readers to the Apr 2022 white paper An Introduction to the Chinese High-Resolution Earth Observation System: Gaofen-1~7 Civilian Satellites.

Li Deren also described an integrated PNTRC concept — Position, Navigation, Timing, Remote sensing and Communications — progressing from local coastal coverage, to regional Belt & Road coverage, and ultimately to global coverage every five minutes with hundreds of Earth-observation and communications satellites.