At a press conference, the administration’s deputy director Song Chaozhi unveiled the ZY 3 satellite and outlined plans to launch the spacecraft from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center on a Long March 4B carrier rocket.

   “Once successfully launched, the satellite will operate in a sun-synchronous orbit at about 506 kilometers in altitude and be capable of producing seamless imagery of the earth’s surface from 84 degrees South latitude to 84 degrees North latitude,” said Chaozhi. “The satellite will provide images with the highest definition and accuracy in China, and greatly help the mapping efforts in the country’s western regions, where geographic information is difficult to collect and update due to limits of equipment and technology.”