Issue 70

03 Flash Archive · Members Only

China’s Gaofen 13-02 Expands China’s Surveillance Area

5 Apr 2023: GF-13-02 settled into its GEO slot at 146.7°E, expanding China's coverage of the Western Pacific. China launched GF-13-02 on a Long March 3B from Xichang on 17 March 2023. CASC announced only that GF-13-02 was a high-resolution, high-orbit optical optical remote sensing satellite with great significance to…

Author Greg Gillinger Published August 1, 2025

5 Apr 2023: GF-13-02 settled into its GEO slot at 146.7°E, expanding China’s coverage of the Western Pacific. China launched GF-13-02 on a Long March 3B from Xichang on 17 March 2023. CASC announced only that GF-13-02 was a high-resolution, high-orbit optical optical remote sensing satellite with great significance to the development of China’s space technology. GF-13-02 joins Gaofen-13-01 (2020) and Gaofen-4 (2015) as other optical satellites in GEO. China has also announced plans to place a SAR imaging satellite into GEO this year as well.

– GF-13-02 currently is currently far more inclined (3°) than the other GEO imagers (GF-4 & 13-01 are both .1°) This will likely change in the coming months.

– The Initial inclination value is chosen to keep the average value near zero over mission lifetime.

– At the beginning of its mission in 2020 GF-13-01 was inclined at 2.0°.

– GF-4 is believed to have a maximum resolution of ~50m, while the GF-13 satellites are believed to have a 15m resolution.

– China placed GF-13-02 significantly further east than GF-13-01 which will enable surveillance further from

China’s coastline. GF-13-02 is <2° East of Guam and <1° East of the Northern Marianas Islands.

– China’s recently released “Blue Book”– an annual snapshot of CASC activities — said remote sensing was enhanced of the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, as well as the South China Sea’s Scarborough Shoal, Macclesfield Bank, the Paracels and Spratly Islands, and the surrounding waters.

– The enhanced satellite program provides important data for the administration and management of the waters and islands, as well as “islands of special purposes” — which China uses as territorial sea bases.

-CASC also reported that its satellites now form a continuous high-frequency observation capability with global coverage.

-China’s claims — represented by a nine-dash line which includes most of the strategic waterway — have made the region a potential hotspot, with the US frequently sending warships on “freedom of navigation” exercises to challenge them.

-China is planning to further expand its GEO imaging constellation and also announced plans for a GEO SAR satellite capable of 20m resolution. Launch is planned for 2023.

Issue 70

Artist rendering of a Gaofen-13 geostationary optical imaging satellite

China’s geostationary imaging satellites and their Western Pacific coverage