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Lift-off for first Hong Kong satellites in Greater Bay network
- Golden Bauhinia devices sent into orbit from Shanxi and reached near-Earth orbit, operator says
- Satellites expected to improve coverage of Hong Kong and zone in southern China
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Two commercial satellites that will form part of a huge smart data collection network covering the entire Greater Bay region were launched into space on Tuesday, their Hong Kong-based operator announced.
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The remote-sensing satellites – Golden Bauhinia N1-01 and Golden Bauhinia N1-02 – lifted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in Shanxi province aboard a Long March 6 carrier rocket and reached their intended near-Earth orbit, Hong Kong Aerospace Technology Group said.
Seven other satellites – three remote-sensing satellites for eastern Shandong province, and four others for satellite testing, real-time imaging, and observation of small celestial bodies – were also sent up.
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According to HKATG, the GB N1-01 and GB N1-02 are part of the first formation of the Golden Bauhinia constellation project, which aims to give users in the Greater Bay area near real-time aerospace big data, and images and videos for smart city development. Upon its completion, the project will form a “24-hour near-instant dynamic monitoring system”.
“It is expected that by the end of 2021, the follow-up satellite of the first formation of the Golden Bauhinia constellation will also be launched. The second-formation satellite launch of the constellation will be launched in due course,” the group said.
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