On June 2nd, 2018, the Luojia-1A scientific experimental satellite carried by the Long March II rocket was successfully launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China.
The “Luojia-1A” micro-nano satellite, weighing in at 20Kg, was led and developed by Wuhan University, and is China’s first night-time light remote sensing satellite. This satellite will conduct experiments on night-light remote sensing application and space-based navigation enhancement modules while in orbit. In the ideal condition, the system can produce the global night-time light image within 15 days. The system supports applications in satellite navigation, socio-economic surveys, national security, and major event assessments, as well as disaster prevention and mitigation. The Luojia-1A satellite is the first one of Luojia-1 scientific experimental satellites project led by Wuhan University. Prof. Li Deren serves as the Project Chief Scientist and the research team of Prof. Zhang Guo from LIESMARS undertakes major tasks. This project is started in 2015, aiming at promoting the integration construction of the Chinese PNTRC (positioning, navigation, timing, remote sensing and communication) space-based real-time smart service system. The second and third satellites are supposed to be launched in the next five years.
LJ-1 has so far acquired nearly 5,900 scenes and distributed 51,000 scenes to more than 3,000 users for free. Data has been globally applied in emergency assistance services such as earthquakes, forest fires and refugee resettlement.