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BJ3A Satellite

Twenty First Century Aerospace Technology’s first 50-cm resolution 4-band satellite.

The BJ3A Advantage

Impressive Collection Capacity

BJ3A has an impressive daily collection capacity of 750,000 sq km along with a 23.5-km swath width.

Expanding High-Resolution Archive

Our high-resolution archive continues to expand daily with BJ3A’s 50-cm resolution satellite imagery.

4-Band Multispectral Imagery

BJ3A provides 50-cm resolution panchromatic and 2-meter resolution multispectral bands, including blue, green, red, and near-infrared (NIR).

Overview & History

Twenty First Century Aerospace Technology launched their first 50-centimeter (cm) resolution satellite, BJ3A, on June 11, 2021 from TaiYuan, China. BJ3A collects 50-cm resolution panchromatic and 2-meter resolution multispectral imagery, including blue, green, red, and near-infrared (NIR) bands. Its swath-width of 23.5-kilometers (km) allows for an impressive daily collection capacity of 750,000 square kilometers (sq km). BJ3A joins Twenty First Century Aerospace Technology’s 80-cm Triplesat satellites as a part of their growing high-resolution constellation.

BJ3A Specifications

Launch Details
  • Launch Date: June 11, 2021, 03:03:00 UTC
  • Vehicle: Long March CZ-2D
  • Site: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, Taiyuan, China
  • Expected Mission Life: at least 8 years
BJ3A Components
  • Dimensions: 2.6-meters (m) tall x 2.7-m across; 1,200 kilograms
  • Control Systems:
    • 3-axis stabilized
    • Actuators–control movement gyros (CMGs)
    • Altitude determination–star trackers, GPS
  • Onboard Storage Capacity: 6 Terabyte (TB) solid state drive
  • Ground Communication Systems:
    • Imagery & metadata downlink–2 x 450 Megabytes per second (Mbps), X-band
  • Focal Plane: two in-line mounted, identical panchromatic and multispectral camera arrays with 12-km swath width each; 23.5-km swath width for combined in-line cameras
Orbit Characteristics
  • Altitude: 500 km
  • Period: 95 minutes
  • Inclination: 97°
  • Direction: sun-synchronous circular, south to north (across the lit side of Earth)
  • Mean Local Crossing Time: 11:00 local time (approximate; across lit side of Earth)
  • Revisit Frequency: (at 40°N)
    • 4 days (≤ 20° off-nadir)
    • 3 days (≤ 35° off-nadir)
Imaging System
  • Spectral Bands:
    • Panchromatic
    • 4-band multispectral (blue, green, red and near-infrared red [NIR])
  • Sensor Resolution:
    • At nadir–50-cm panchromatic & 2-m multispectral
    • 20° off-nadir–57-cm panchromatic & 2.28-m multispectral
    • 30° off-nadir–67-cm panchromatic & 2.68-m multispectral
  • Spectral Band Wavelength Range: (in nm)
    • Panchromatic–450 to 700
    • Blue–450 to 520
    • Green–520 to 590
    • Red–630 to 690
    • NIR–770 to 890
  • Dynamic Range: 12-bits
Collection Capabilities
  • Footprint Width: 23.5 km (at nadir)
  • Single Pass Maximum Collection Geometry:
    • Mono–70 km x 170 km (7 strips wide)
    • Stereo–23.5 km x 70 km (3 pairs wide)
  • Daily Collection Capacity: 750,000 sq km
  • Georeferenced Horizontal Accuracy: < 10-m CE90 (global average, dependent on terrain)

Pricing

Data Source

archive

Minimum Order Size

25 sq km (per area & date)

Product Type

50-cm georeferenced + natural color or 4-band

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Looking for a BJ3A spectral response curve to be used in an atmospheric correction and/or radiance conversion?

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