China's high resolution satellite sends photos

China today published photos transmitted by its first high-resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite aimed at providing a seamless view of seas to protect its maritime rights besides land borders and global hotspots.
It was launched on August 10 as it looks tofirmly establish its control over the disputed South China Sea.
The satellite calledGaofen-3, which could provide pictures withresolution of one meter was expected to provide more clearer view of the land border including the India-China boundary.
The State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND) today published images of the Beijing Capital International Airport, Xiamen city of Fujian Province, the northern port of Tianjin, China's fourth-largest freshwater lake Hongze and the Yellow Sea, which were taken by the satellite, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

These images were captured using different imaging modes and all appear to be clear, according to the SASTIND.
Gaofen-3 has all-weather, 24-hour earth observation capability, and will provide China with new technologies for ocean environment monitoring, maritime rights protection, disaster monitoring and evaluation, meteorological research, monitoring of water conservation facilities, and water resource management, according to SASTIND.

It's data was received by ground stations and processed by the China Centre For Resources Satellite Data and Application.
So far Gaofen-3 has obtained and processed as much as 2.15TB of data.
SASTIND said that tests on ground-based systems will be finished by December and then application tests will begin, the report said.

Major users of the satellite's application services include the State Oceanic Administration, Ministry of Civil Affairs, Ministry of Water Resources and China Meteorological Administration.