Published : 2025-03-02

On March 2, 2000, China's first high-speed transmission Earth observation satellite "ZY-1" (Resource-1) was officially put into use.

The "ZY-1" satellite, jointly developed by the Chinese Academy of Space Technology and the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research, is the first satellite China has co-developed with another country.

It was successfully launched on October 14, 1999, at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre, setting a precedent for the first successful launch of a domestic application satellite.

After the "ZY-1" satellite is put into use, it will be jointly managed and the benefits shared by both China and Brazil.

After the launch of the "ZY-1" satellite, it is mainly responsible for detecting changes in China's land resources, assessing forest reserves, detecting natural and human-made disasters, and providing data for space science research by monitoring the space environment.

At the same time, "ZY-1" is also responsible for transmitting real-time visible light, multispectral, short-wave infrared and thermal infrared remote sensing images to Brazil and other countries and regions capable of receiving them.

The official launch of the "ZY-1" satellite marked that China's resource satellite development technology had reached the advanced international level at that time, establishing China's leading position in satellite technology in Asia.