RMS: The photo with 1 meter resolution took by Russian satellite (Sovinformsputnik photo via Andrei Pinkov interview)

USMS:The simulation photo with 1 meter resolution took by U.S. Satellite (E-Systems photo via Andrei Pinkov interview)

[Kanwa news Jan.30 Tokyo] China has installed the orbit-switching engine system in the FSW2 recoverable satellite that has newly been put into service. This system has a function of orbital control which helps increase the survival capability of the satellite when it is attacked by the anti-satellite weapons. The new FSW2 can be used for the military reconnaissance.

As the Japanese military commentator Iwasa gensei indicated to the KWIC reporter, China has been continuously trying to develop the latest military reconnaissance satellite with its weight on the rise. He emphasized that the resolution of the Chinese reconnaissance satellite in the late 1990’ s had reached the level of 0.5 to 1 meter. That is almost equivalent to the resolution of the KH9 that the USA used in the 1970’ s.

The weight of the Chinese reconnaissance satellite has been continuously increasing. In addition, the diameter of the reflecting camera carried by the satellite has been made larger, maybe exceeding 1 meter, and the resolution of its picture-taking reconnaissance has continuously improved. With its launch orbit changing to the “ para-polar orbit ” from the year of 1984, the Chinese reconnaissance satellite has been able to reconnoiter any corner of the earth.

China is also in the process of developing the reconnaissance satellite with digital transmission and its compatible CCD camera technology (Kanwa digest news by Andrei Pinkov).

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