The China Center for Resources Satellite Data and Application
(CCRSDA) announced on Thursday that it will launch six geographical
survey satellites in five years.
The center will also establish a high-resolution land
observation project and build a data center for the satellites.
Set up in 1991, the CCRSDA completed China's first application
system for resources satellites in August 1999. CBERS-1, the first
in a series of earth resources satellites, was launched two months
later.
Data from the satellites has been used in agriculture, forestry,
city planning, environmental protection and disaster
monitoring.
(Xinhua News Agency December 15, 2006)