China successfully launches first special satellite for energy engineering
Global Times
Published: May 15, 2026 08:11 PM
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China on Friday successfully sent PowerChina-1, the country's first dedicated satellite for energy engineering, into its predetermined orbit with a Lijian-1 Y13 carrier rocket at the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone in northwest China, the Global Times learned from the developer on Friday.
As China's first dedicated X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite for the energy infrastructure sector, the successful launch fills the gap in dedicated space-based monitoring satellites for the energy sector, building an independently controllable "space security guardian" for major national energy projects, according to a statement the developer, the PowerChina Chengdu Engineering Corporation, sent to the Global Times.
Equipped with an advanced planar phased array radar system, it achieves a spotlight imaging resolution better than 0.5 meters and a scanning width of up to 200 kilometers, boasting powerful all-weather, all-time observation capabilities that can penetrate clouds and rain. Unlike traditional optical satellites, it operates in a 500-kilometer low-Earth orbit relying on low-orbit X-band interferometric radar technology and repeat-track interferometry.
Adopting time-series InSAR technology with atmospheric correction, it can precisely capture millimeter-level subtle deformations of the ground surface and large structures, accurately identifying tiny displacement changes as small as the diameter of a human hair, per the statement.
Zhang Shishu, Chief Scientist of the PowerChina-1 satellite, chief technical expert at PowerChina and Chairman of the PowerChina Chengdu Engineering Co, introduced that after entering orbit smoothly, the satellite will fully support the full-life-cycle safety guarantee of major national infrastructure including hydropower, water conservancy, transportation and new energy. It can identify potential geological hazards such as landslides, rock collapses and ground subsidence on a large scale with high precision, helping shift disaster prevention and mitigation from passive emergency response to active early warning.