On December fifth at 03:58 UTC, China launched a Long March 3B from LC-3 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern China. Onboard was Gaofen-14, the next in China’s series of high-resolution optical imaging satellites.

This particular Gaofen-14 satellite is an optical stereo imaging satellite. This means that the satellite takes two images of the same target from different angles. When the images are processed, it is possible to extract elevation from the data, which can be used for topographic mapping and the creation of digital elevation models.

More Information

CASC press release

CGTN article

Gaofen-14 info page (Gunter’s Space Page)