Gaofen

Gaofen Weixing

高分 Gāo Fēn
Program overview
Country	China
Status	Active
Program history
First flight	26 April 2013
Last flight	20 August 2023
Successes	32
Failures	1
Launch site(s)	TSLC JSLC XSLC
Vehicle information
Launch vehicle(s)	Long March 2D Long March 3B Long March 4B Long March 4C Kuaizhou-1A Long March 11H

Gaofen (Chinese: 高分; pinyin: Gāofēn; lit. 'high resolution') is a series of Chinese high-resolution Earth imaging satellites launched as part of the China High-resolution Earth Observation System (CHEOS) program.^[1][2] CHEOS is a state-sponsored, civilian Earth-observation program used for agricultural, disaster, resource, and environmental monitoring. Proposed in 2006 and approved in 2010, the CHEOS program consists of the Gaofen series of space-based satellites, near-space and airborne systems such as airships and UAVs, ground systems that conduct data receipt, processing, calibration, and taskings, and a system of applications that fuse observation data with other sources to produce usable information and knowledge.^[2][3]

Although the first seven Gaofen satellites and their payloads have been heavily detailed, little to no details on Gaofen 8 and later satellites have been revealed prompting suggestions that Gaofen satellites may be dual purpose supporting both civilian and military missions.^{[2][4][5][6][7]}

In 2003, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) agreed with Roscosmos to share Gaofen data for data from Russia's Earth observation satellites of similar capability. This agreement was expanded in August 2021 when leaders from BRICS space agencies agreed to share space-based remote sensing data.^[8]