Science
GAOFEN-2
Sub-meter Earth Observation · CNSA / CRESDA
Right now
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China's first sub-meter commercial-quality satellite, Gaofen-2 delivers 80 cm imagery and marked the moment China no longer needed to purchase high-resolution imagery from foreign providers. Satellite imaging self-sufficiency is as strategically significant to China as energy independence — GF-2 was a milestone on that path.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Low Earth Orbitcan appear as a fast-moving star at dawn or dusk
- Altitude
- 388–395 mi (624–636 km)
- Inclination
- 98.0°
- One orbit
- 97.2 minutes14.8 orbits a day
- NORAD ID
- 40118
- Int’l designator
- 2014-049A
- Launched
- 2014
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 7 Nov 2026.
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- GAOFEN-5 02Chinese Hyperspectral Atmospheric Monitoring Satellite