The Yaogan-14 satellite will be used to conduct scientific experiments, carry out surveys on land resources, monitor crop yields and help with natural disaster-reduction and prevention. It was joined in the flight by a tiny satellite named Tiantuo I which will be mainly used for data reception for the satellite-based vessel Automatic Identification System, optical imaging and various space exploration experiments in orbit, according to the XINHUA NEWS AGENCY.
NASA SPACEFLIGHT.COM suggests that western analysts believe this class of satellites is being used for military purposes.
Last week, the Tianhui I-02 mapping satellite from the JIUQUAN SATELLITE LAUNCH CENTER in northwest China's Gansu province using a Long March 2-D carrier rocket. The Tianhui I-02 will mainly be used to conduct scientific experiments, carry out land resource surveys and map territory.
Late last month (April 29, 2012), the Chinese launched the a pair of navigation satellites, marking the first time a Long March 3B (Chang Zheng 3B) launch vehicle has been used for this kind of mission. The launch of the (China's Beidou navigation system) Compass-M3 and Compass-M4 satellites took place at 2050UTC on Sunday from the LC2 launch complex of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.
The long-term goal is to develop a global navigation satellite network similar to the GPS and GLONASS by 2020, eventually consisting a constellation of 35 vehicles, including 27 MEO (21,500 km orbits) satellites, three IGSO satellites (inclined at 55 degrees) and five GSO satellites, notes NASA SPACEFLIGHT.COM.
