China sends world's first synthetic aperture radar satellite into space

A Long March-3B carrier rocket carrying the Land Exploration-4 01 satellite, the world's first synthetic aperture radar satellite, blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, Aug. 13, 2023. (Photo: China News Service/Zhang Yingjian)

The satellite equipped with a synthetic aperture radar payload with high resolution, wide coverage, multiple modes, and lightweight advantages can improve the accuracy and efficiency of identifying abnormal changes in weather and enhance the nation's comprehensive disaster prevention and control capabilities.

A Long March-3B carrier rocket carrying the Land Exploration-4 01 satellite, the world's first synthetic aperture radar satellite, blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, Aug. 13, 2023. (Photo: China News Service/Zhang Yingjian)

A Long March-3B carrier rocket carrying the Land Exploration-4 01 satellite, the world's first synthetic aperture radar satellite, blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, Aug. 13, 2023. (Photo: China News Service/Zhang Yingjian)

A Long March-3B carrier rocket carrying the Land Exploration-4 01 satellite, the world's first synthetic aperture radar satellite, blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, Aug. 13, 2023. (Photo: China News Service/Zhang Yingjian)

A Long March-3B carrier rocket carrying the Land Exploration-4 01 satellite, the world's first synthetic aperture radar satellite, blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, Aug. 13, 2023. (Photo: China News Service/Zhang Yingjian)