In another show of technical prowess, China has claimed to have launched a satellite, which can take high resolution images of a large area in a US city while rotating in just a few seconds, said a report citing researchers.
What’s special about this small commercial satellite, which is called Beijing-3, is that it can monitor around 500 areas of interest around the globe by making nearly 100 revisits in a day with the help of AI on board.
This one-tonne commercial satellite, which was launched by China in June, performed an in-depth scan of the core area of San Francisco Bay. It is spread in 3,800 square kilometres or 1,470 square miles, said the report.
In just 42 seconds, this small Chinese satellite can take images of a large area of a US city, which can identify a military vehicle on the street and say what weapon it may be carrying, it said.
This satellite is being regarded as most advanced as it can take clear images even during rotation while the other Earth observation satellites need to be stable to avoid blurring due to the vibrations.
It can take images while rotating at up to 10 degrees per second. This speed seems to have not been seen in any other satellite before, said the report.
(With inputs from agencies)