China successfully launches two high-resolution remote sensing satellites

Beijing: China on Wednesday successfully launched two high-resolution remote sensing satellites which can get commercial images at 0.5-meter resolution.

The satellites called 'SuperView-1 01/02' were launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in Shanxi Province, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The satellites took off at 11:23 am Beijing time on the back of a Long March 2D rocket.

The satellites launch followed release of a white paper on Tuesday which said China plans to form a BeiDou network consisting of 35 satellites for global navigation services by 2020. And it is expected to compete with America's Global Positioning system.

China plans to start providing basic services to countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-century Maritime Silk Road in 2018, it said.

Besides satellite services, the paper said China will launch a lunar probe in 2018 to achieve worlds first soft landing on the far side of the Moon to show case its ambitious space programme, which included several manned missions, building permanent space station and reaching to Mars.

(With PTI inputs)