The leading star A (Guangda No. 1) of the "Wuyang Constellation" is fully equipped and set out to launch a new practice of low-latitude high-frequency remote sensing observations in my country.

China News Service, Guangzhou, September 17 (Reporter Xu Qingqing) Guangzhou University introduced on the 17th that the "Wuyang Constellation" lead A satellite (Guangda No. 1), which was developed by the school, has recently been fully equipped and headed for the launch site.

According to reports, the "Wuyang Constellation" is a low-tilt, non-sun-synchronous remote sensing constellation jointly promoted by the Guangzhou Municipal Government, the National Information Center and Guangzhou University. As the leading satellite of the "Wuyang Constellation", the satellite adopts a low-inclination orbit scheme, breaking through the observation limitations of traditional polar-orbiting satellites and opening up a new practice of high-frequency remote sensing observations in low-latitude areas in my country. It also marks that my country's commercial aerospace industry has jumped out of dependence on polar orbit paths and entered a new stage of independently defined low-latitude observations.

The scene of the expedition ceremony for the lead star A (Guangda No. 1) of the "Five Ram Constellation". Photo courtesy of Guangzhou University

It is understood that globally, mainstream remote sensing constellations have been operating in polar orbits for a long time. In the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, southern my country, and low-latitude areas such as Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America, there are dense populations and active economies, but they have long faced the dilemma of insufficient supply of high-frequency remote sensing data. The "Wuyang Constellation" is anchored at 35-40 degrees north and south latitude, a low-latitude zone with active global economy, and is committed to building my country's first intelligent aerospace information service system for low-latitude regions with high-resolution wide-bandwidth and full-spectrum capabilities.

Gu Xingfa, director of the Institute of Space and Remote Sensing Innovation at Guangzhou University and chief engineer of the Wuyang Constellation Engineering, said that more than half of the world's population and major economies are concentrated between 35 degrees north and south latitude, and traditional sun-synchronous orbit satellites do not revisit this area frequently enough; the Wuyang Constellation is located at a low The inclination orbit has achieved a breakthrough. After the network is established, it will cover 15 provinces and cities in southern my country, radiate to 99 countries in low-latitude regions such as Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America, and support diverse scenarios such as resource monitoring, agricultural production, ocean observation, ecological protection, emergency disaster reduction, and urban governance.

According to the overall plan, the "Wuyang Constellation" consists of 3 pilot satellites and 25 operational satellites. The lead A satellite "Guangda No. 1" in this expedition is responsible for the pathfinding mission of the entire constellation, and will verify the entire chain of technologies such as orbit adaptation, multi-load imaging, electric propulsion on-orbit scheduling, satellite-ground links and ground data processing at once. Taking the pilot A satellite as a starting point, all parties will rely on on-orbit measured data to steadily promote subsequent business satellite networking.

Gu Xingfa said that Guangzhou University will rely on "Guangda No. 1" to build an open and shared "sky laboratory" to support high-level talent training and original scientific research, and achieve "one star pulling and multi-disciplinary progress." (over)