Gaofen constellation satellite launched in China

The Earth remote sensing satellite of the Gaofen constellation has been launched into Earth orbit. This was reported by the newspaper China Daily with reference to the Chinese National Space Administration. The Changzheng-4B launch vehicle with the Gaofen satellite launched from the Taiyuan Cosmodrome in northern Shanxi Province on July 3. As an additional payload, a small scientific satellite was also launched into Earth orbit as a result of this launch. The first satellite of the Gaofen constellation was launched in 2010. Data from this series are used in agriculture and forestry, for environmental monitoring and research of natural resources. It is planned that the formation of the Gaofen group will be completed by the end of 2020. As previously reported by the news agency, in July, Chinese specialists put into operation the recently launched Beidou satellite, completing the formation of a navigation orbital constellation.