A close-up of the Nanhu Gaoxing satellite. [Photo/WeChat account: jxfabu]

The departure ceremony of Nanhu Gaoxing, the pilot satellite of Cosats' remote sensing satellite constellation, was held on Oct 10 in Jiaxing, East China's Zhejiang province.

The satellite is the first in the company's "Weitong" remote-sensing constellation and marks the inaugural launch of Jiaxing's micro and nanosatellite network.

Scheduled to depart from Jiaxing in mid-October for the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China, it will be sent into orbit aboard a Kuaizhou-11 rocket.

The Weitong constellation will comprise 150 micro and nanosatellites capable of rapid-response remote sensing. Each satellite offers panchromatic resolution of up to 0.5 meters and multispectral resolution of up to 2 meters, with mid- and long-wave infrared resolution of up to 40 meters.

Using a green, non-toxic propulsion system and an innovative satellite bus, the system enables multi-band Earth observation. Equipped with visible-light, multispectral, near-, mid-, and long-infrared cameras, the satellite provides remote-sensing data for various sectors, including natural resources, marine monitoring, forest fire prevention, environmental protection, and smart city management.

The satellite underwent 300 days of design, assembly, and testing. Following its launch later this month or early next month, it will begin trial applications in forest fire detection, maritime tracking, and environmental monitoring.