China develops sustainable development satellite

BEIJING, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has developed a satellite for pursuing sustainable development.

The satellite, SDGSAT-1, has already passed the round-the-clock and multi-load coordinated observation. It is expected to provide advanced, open and shared data resources for monitoring and evaluating the sustainable development index representing the interaction between human and nature.

The International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was inaugurated in Beijing on Monday to support the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The development and operation of the SDGSAT-1 are among the main missions of this newly established research center, said Guo Huadong, an academician with the CAS.

The satellite has three payloads of thermal infrared, low light level and multispectral imager, with 300 km wide data acquisition capability. It can achieve global coverage within 11 days.

The satellite will be launched at a later time.