China to launch 36 satellites to predict natural disasters

China has initiated a project of building a constellation of 36 low-orbit satellites to gather information for forecasting natural disasters and monitoring urban emergencies, Report informs referring to Xinhua.

The project undertaken by the Tianjin Satcom Geohe Technologies Co., Ltd. was inaugurated on August 24 in China’s spacecraft launch center of Wenchang, in south China’s Hainan Province.

The first satellite will be launched and commissioned in space in June 2022. All 36 satellites will have been launched by the end of May in 2023 to complete the constellation.

The satellite network will provide high-resolution images to help observers identify millimeter-level geological deformations to gauge the possibilities of geological disasters, such as landslide, subsidence, and collapse.

Satellite data combined with geological survey and monitoring data captured by ground sensors in geohazard-prone areas can significantly improve the accuracy and timeliness of natural disaster prediction.